If it is something that is not so easily available here, like kacang ma chicken, for example, I certainly will think about cooking my own. Or if it is available but it is not so nice, for instance, popiah (spring rolls), then I will have no choice but to make it myself.
But if it is something that I can buy at some place here anytime and it is very nice, I definitely will think twice about having to sweat it out in the kitchen to cook my own version of it especially when it entails a whole lot of preparation and requires a multitude of ingredients.
Like the other day, a friend of mine shared a link with me on Facebook – a recipe for ayam masak merah. Now, that is one thing that I will not bother to cook myself as I can get it very easily at my regular Malay food stall at Bandong anytime…
For only RM10.00, I can get this much of the absolutely delightful dish that is not only very delicious but also wonderfully aromatic and spicy…
…and is substantial enough for two persons for two meals or more.
Of course, if I were my friend who is living overseas, I would not have much choice but to try and cook my own as what may be available at Malaysian restaurants would be quite expensive and there is no guarantee that it will be nice.
My daughter had this lamb curry at a very classy Malaysian restaurant in New Zealand…
…plus roti canai with banana filling served with ice cream for dessert…
…and that came up to NZ$25.00, which is well over RM50.00 in our currency and she said it was not as nice as the curry we would cook at home and the roti canai was hard and tough and nowhere near what she used to have in Sungai Petani (Kedah).
She was grumbling away about it being so very expensive as well but I told her that it was perfectly all right and that at times, we need to pamper ourselves a little bit…especially after all the hard work and the stress of all the assignments, tests and examinations that she had been through.
Well, I do that sometimes – pamper myself. Do you?
...STILL CRAZY AFTER ALL THESE YEARS! 
I think ah… even with my lousy cooking, I can make quite a fortune if I open a restaurant in NZ. Nonid to do much thing, just cook curry chicken or wud and hire someone to make roti canai. Ish… can be millionaire!
Go…go! Then I can go over and visit you – free food and lodging. Otherwise, I would have to pay an arm or a leg for those… 😦
haha, yeah go and open one ! hire me to work for u
LOL!!! Good one! And hire me too…!!!! Muahahahaha!!!! 😀
I am so going to cekik cikgu when u come KL. Have me drooling …now hungry already but can feel sore throat coming also
Drooling? What? Ayam masak merah ke? Yum! Yum! Hahahahahaha!!!! Aiyor…your hubby passed the germs to you already kah… Stay away from the little kucing! LOL!!!
*choke* what ? roti canai and curry for rm50 ? LOL. surely make me appreciate living in malaysia coz i cn get the same food for cheaper price, and nicer too
No…they will tell you their salaries are higher despite paying most of it in taxes and GST is now 15% etc…etc… It all boils down to how people look at things – positively or negatively. When you are bent on thinking negatively about things, no matter what people say, you will never look at it the same way. As they say, “there is none so blind as he who will not see.”
Miss my mum’s food!! Here in the USA, I have to cook everything by myself. Even I need to improvise some of the recipes due to lack of some ingredients…
Been there, done that – improvise or make do without some of the essential ingredients which even if they have, may not be very affordable. East-west, home is best…or the Chinese has a saying, “Smelly…smelly also…our own home!” I think the Malays have something along this same line too – “Biarkan hujan emas di negeri orang, lebih baik hujan batu di negeri sendiri,” except that they get all the hailstorms and we here…only once in a blue moon! LOL!!!
P.S. Btw, your first time here, I see…so, a very warm welcome and do come often. Will link you in my blogroll… 🙂
No la daddy, the peribahasa is “Hujan emas di negeri orang, hujan batu di negari sendiri” which is equivalent to the English saying “The grass is always greener on the other side”.
Being overseas does make me appreciate my home more though 🙂
Oops…not so familiar with Malay peribahasa – actually, I googled that up and probably ended up with an “extended version”. LOL!!! I guess in essence, the meaning is there. Yup…it’s like si-tenggang…broadened by sight and mind. 😉
haha..absolutely agree. Being overseas actually teach me to appreciate my root and to be proud of where i’m from. Sadly, there are ppls who cant help but criticizing their own country after being overseas. -_-
Well, maybe it is actually very good for them…but what’s good for the goose may not be good for the gander. Glad that there are people who do appreciate their roots and their humble beginnings… In a way, this quotation from the Bible, though it actually refers to our spiritual well-being, may be of some relevance: “And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul?” (Matthew 16:26)
lol.. I think you pamper yourself almost everyday.. 😛
Muahahahahaha!!! Good one! This, I simply cannot deny! 😉
Never mind lah, ringgit is getting stronger by then,we shall all not complain about how much a roti canai cost overseas already lah..
hey Arthur, since you are now “shaking legs” it would be nice to sweat it out in the kitchen lah.
take care now, happy deepavali,, going anywhere ?
That will be the day! I really wonder why people would go overseas and eat roti canai though…like those ang moh tourists that we see eating at McDs. I would want to try what they have to offer – but in my daughter’s case, of course, she was with her friends who would not be able to eat anything anywhere they like…and I guess being there for so long, one does miss our own home delights – but not if only there on a short holiday.
Me – sweat it out in the kitchen? No, thanks… There has got to be much more to life than that. LOL!!!
I share the same philosophy, if it’s available why bother to make it yourself? In most cases, I’ve found, bought food usually tastes better. And also can’t compare food at home and overseas. Coming back, even MAS’s airplane food tastes good. To me, perfectly fine to pamper yourself. Life is too short. BTW, Melissa’s pics seem a little out of focus. Is she using macro mode (flower icon)? Your pics are always incredibly sharp. Do you use macro mode yourself or is it the Nikon that does it automatically?
Yes…even after 3 months in the UK, how we fought over the nasi lemak (which isn’t that much to fight over) on our flight back!!! And I was the odd one out – they ran out of nasi lemak…and I had to eat the other option. Tsk! Tsk!
I use macro…all the time, since I always take close-up photos. She does not take photos that much and I suppose the light in the place was kinda dim. Besides, I will take a number…and then choose the best one to post in my blog. These days, we do not have to worry about the limited number of exposures on the film…so just click away! Lately, I’ve been taking indoor photos using table lamplight for some nice shades and shadows… Wonder if anybody notices that.
When comes to food, I will pamper myself. hehe……..
That makes two of us… 😉
if you ask me, i sure say yes.. i pamper myself most of the time with food!! 🙂
Aha! So that makes three of us now… Eugene can go and sweat it out in the kitchen by himself. Muahahahahaha!!!! 😀
ayam masak merah, i like to eat it with nasi briyani, nice nice.
Don’t worry Melissa, she can enjoy her local food very soon, start count down and make a list what and where to go and eat!!
Yup…just a week to go. Already drawing up a list… Watch out for the posts! LOL!!! 😀
I try to pamper my self with gourmet most of the time, kiahahaha!
I always love malay’s food, spicy and yet couldn’t have enough of it!^-^ have a nice day!
Me too! I prefer our own ASEAN cuisine anytime…though I don’t mind others sometimes for a change.
Hello hello uncle, blog getting nicer hor… guess good things happen when im gone xD
Hello hello…where have you been so long? Busy with exams? No lah…don’t put yourself down…so kesian!!! Just thought I’d spruce it up a bit, knowing that you’ll be coming back… Hahahahahaha!!! 😉
Yes, pamper yourself once in a while.
My daughter also complained that food in UK is bad. Now, she is talking about cake. So she baked her own. They all cook but do pamper themselves at times.
Ya…have to bake one’s own – the cakes there are very very sweet. I did not like them either when I was there.
Yeah once in while should pamper like the saying goes cari makan mah even the Cantonese also say ‘wan sik’. Passed by a money changer kiosk this morning and saw the exhange rate..above RM3 for a Aussie $ same as USD now..phew!!!
Sigh!!! NZ money also going up. Was around RM2.20+…and then RM2.30+…and now that I’m going to KL to change some, it’s RM2.40+. I hope it drops a little by this time next week… 😦
poor oldman like me only can pamper myself with leftover food from others… 🙂
In SINgapore… Come to Sibu, I pamper you with my cooking…no need to wait for my leftovers! 😉
I think I wanna open a restaurant too in NZ. 😀
Why? To make more money? You’re already making a fortune from your blog and all that…still want some more kah? 😉
May I know which restaurant that your daughter went to in NZ to have her expensive meal?I live in Auckland and have probably ‘visit’ all Malaysian and Indonesian makan place here to hilangkan my rindu.Been most to other Malaysian restaurants too in other parts of NZ(there are not that many though).
She’s not in Auckland. My brother is there. I’ve been to the website of that classy Malaysian restaurant: http://www.istanamalaysia.co.nz/page/home.aspx It certainly looks posh and expensive. My daughter says there’s another one that she went to that may not be so nice but it is cheaper and the food is much nicer. This guy’s in Auckland so you may be familiar with the places in his posts: http://charlesloh.blogspot.com/
Thanks for the links..will check them out later after going through your blog…gosh…only a few more hundreds posts to go…Jungle Love, 9 Sept (at the moment).Love your sense of humour…will not be sleeping tonight!!!!!
Oh gosh! Take your sweet time – I will not be going anywhere. It’s almost midnight there. By the way, I’ve requested to be added as your friend on Facebook… Small world, eh? Hehehehehe!!!😀