Christmas isn’t Christmas (2)…

As I have said in yesterday’s post, Christmas isn’t Christmas if not spent with loved ones – family or friends. Melissa had a terrific time at last year’s Christmas party, so I decided to hold one again this year…

…but a slightly toned-down one at that.

Last year, we were planning a western-themed party and Melissa and I were supposed to cook some special dishes…but my missus, despite the fact that she had to work around that time, wanted to get into the thick of the action (and insisted on cooking certain dishes not related to the theme my daughter and I were working on) and it was a real hassle – all three in the kitchen at the same time, fighting for the gas stove and the oven…and tempers (mine mostly) were wearing thin – I was quite upset that the guests were starting to arrive and my missus was still struggling to get her dishes done and served.

This year, being older and wiser, we decided to let her do everything and besides, she was on leave so she had more time to do whatever she wanted. I only cooked this satay beef…

and ketupat…

– all instant but it was well-received except that everyone was commenting, “Oooo…the beef rendang‘s really good!” Duh!!! It wasn’t rendang! LOL!!

My daughter wanted to cook tomato rice…as she and her friends did something of the sort in Wellington, New Zealand and she loved it and was quite certain that she could do it on her own. I googled for the recipe and got very complicated ones…so I had to ask around, only to get different suggestions in the end. We decided to take a bit from here and a bit from there and come out with something of our own…

…and thankfully, it turned out all right and was really very good.

I wouldn’t want to cook something for a special occasion like this unless I have done it before and I am sure that it would come out just perfect. Kinda’ risky, don’t you think?

My missus cooked the chicken curry…

…A1 Mountain Globe instant curry paste, kay liao (with added ingredients) and her specialty, the ngor hiang (meat rolls)…

She also made these lokam which my daughter loves…

*Melissa’s photo on her Canon IXUS 95IS*

…and the baked chicken wings…

…and the salad…

I bought these super-duper cream puffs from a bakery near my house…

…and my sister gave us this yummy Horlicks cake…

…which was something like batek cake except that they used Horlicks instead of chocolate…and chocolate Marie biscuits instead of the plain ones.

Other than those, for dessert, we also had the very rich and nice fruit cake that Annie-Q gave me, made by coffeesncookies…

…and everyone liked it a lot and was praising it to the skies. There were only a few slices left when the party ended. All in all, I guess it all went pretty well, thankfully – everyone had their fill and had a good time.

Well, it’s New Year’s Eve today. So what are your plans to say goodbye to 2010 and to usher in the New Year – 2011? Care to share?

Christmas isn’t Christmas (1)…

Christmas isn’t Christmas…if it is not spent together with one’s loved ones and I sure am glad that my daughter decided to come home for the holidays as it is at such times that we would miss them most of all.

We did not have a grand celebration – no open house, like in my childhood and younger days, nor did we drop by to visit anybody who was holding one. We went to the service on the night of Christmas Eve and after that, on our way home, we stopped by the Red Carrot, located quite near our house,  for dinner cum supper.

My daughter had the lamb chop…

…and was delighted that they were very generous and gave her such huge slabs. Most importantly, they were very nice.

My missus had their chicken chop (RM13.90)…

…and she liked it too.

Mine was a bit of a disappointment. I had their roasted chicken with barbecue sauce (RM11.90)…

…and only got a tiny drumstick. The one in the promotional photo was so big – occupying at least half to three-quarters of the plate. It tasted really good though…and I loved those potatoes (with bits of bacon and green peppers) by the side – really nice!

Actually, my daughter wanted the fish and chips that night but I had that before and did not think it was really anything to shout about. I think the fish fillet plus something like bryani rice or the fish burger at their affiliated Sarawak’s own fast food chain, the Sugar Bun, is a lot nicer. So the next day – Christmas Day, we headed to the Garden Hotel for lunch  so that Melissa could have their fish and chips (RM12.00)…

…which, in our opinion, is the best in town. As a matter of fact, Melissa thinks it is better than what she can get in Wellington, New Zealand with its breadcrumb coating…instead of the flour batter, plus she thought the Chinese couple at the fish and chips place near her apartment are not very friendly, to put it mildly.

I had the nasi goreng istimewa (special fried rice) – RM10.00…

…and frankly, I’ve yet to find a place where their fried rice is nicer than mine. Hehehehehe!!!!

My missus had something from their set lunch menu for December (RM8.00) – the sotong curry…

…and it was o.k. though the complimentary soup that came with it tasted a bit burnt.

We went to church again on Christmas night…for the sunset mass as we would be  busy the next day and after that, we went to one of the nicer restaurants in town for dinner/supper – the Y2K Cafe. Of course, we had the sweet and sour fish fillet that Melissa loves a lot…

…and their lemon chicken…

The fried green veg was done perfectly…

…and the tofu soup, Foochow-style was as good as ever…

The bill came up to RM46.00 which was more or less what I paid at the other two places (inclusive of drinks). Which one do you think you would opt for…if you could only choose one of the three?

So, that was Christmas for me – all centred around the family and I wouldn’t have it any other way. How was yours?

Just passing through…

You will never be able to guess where this is, with all that greenery and even a nice little pool with flowing water…

It is actually at the KLIA (Kuala Lumpur International Airport) and unlike before, inside the domestic departure lounge these days, they have placed a lot of chairs for transit passengers to sit while waiting for their connecting flights…

We arrived before noon from Penang and our flight back to Sibu was at 7.30 p.m. so we chose to park ourselves at some obscure corner where we could sit with a certain amount of privacy and also enjoy the soothing view of nature outside while waiting.

My daughter said she was still full from the breakfast that we had at the airport in Penang, so I settled down comfortably across one of the three-seaters and had a nap. I must have been very tired after the week-long holiday as my daughter said that I was snoring so very loudly. Luckily there wasn’t anybody else around that part of the airport or else it would be kind of embarrassing, don’t you think? LOL!!!

I woke up at around 2.00 p.m. and we decided to go and grab something to eat. I chose a nice table with a good view…

…while my missus went to get the food and drinks.

My daughter and I had the nasi lemak with chicken rendang…

…which was pretty good – much better than what they serve for breakfast at this hotel for RM13.50.

My missus had the mee mamak with sotong…

…which was very nice too. I do not know exactly how much she paid but she said it was somewhere in the region of RM10.00 each.

After having had our fill, we went back to our corner…and I went back to sleep again. Gee! That was really great and for the first time ever, I reached home late that night and was not feeling in the least, tired.

When I woke up at around 4 something, I went back to the food section to the Burger King outlet there. They had something new on their menu – the premium angus steakhouse…

…and I had to give it a try.

It wasn’t cheap though – RM12.90 a la carte…which would total up to over RM13.50 with the 5% service tax. I opted for the set – RM16.90…and RM17.75 with the added tax and besides the burger…

…I also got a drink and some french fries.

The three of us shared all that (though it was my daughter who ate most of the burger)…

…and frankly, I must say that it was such a disappointment. I would much sooner go for the double cheese burger in Sibu for RM16.90 which in my honest opinion, would be heaps better and worth the money even though it is quite pricey.

Let us just say that should I be passing  through that way again, that is one thing that I definitely will NOT have…

Last flight out…

Well, it was one of the morning MAS flights, in fact, but not the last flight out. Our flight from KLIA home to Sibu was at 7.30 p.m. that evening and I did not dare to take the 5 something flight from Penang in case there was a delay or cancellation and we would not be able to catch the flight home. All the other flights in the afternoon were full, so I had to settle for the one at 10.45 a.m. arriving at KLIA around 11.40.

We had to wait the whole afternoon at KLIA but I guess it would work out to more or less the same thing as most hotels would insist that you check out at noon…or by the latest, 1.00 p.m. and given the choice between hanging around at KLIA and Penang airport, I would much sooner opt for the former.

Anyway, that morning, we went to the airport quite early to check in and I made sure that we had ample time to sit and enjoy breakfast at the Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf outlet there…

…especially considering that all you will get on a MAS flight between Penang and KL would be a drink and a little packet of peanuts.

I had their Brek O’Day which I had the last time I was there and I quite enjoyed it…

Great heavens!! That cost RM19.00 now – it was only RM16.35 when I had that in September, 2009 – an increase of over 16%!  Tsk! Tsk!!!

My daughter had the salmon scramble (RM17.80)…

I guess she missed all that salmon that she had been eating in Wellington, New Zealand.

My missus had their egg club sandwich (RM19.00)…

…but she did not say a thing about it. Well, at least, she did not grumble and complain, so I guess it must at least be edible.

All orders were inclusive of free flow of coffee but their mugs were so big that we couldn’t possibly ask for more…and it would be quite a hassle to go into the (tiny) toilet on board the aircraft while airborne.

All too soon, after breakfast, it was bye-bye, Penang! I would probably be back again…sometime in April.

One last time…

It was on our last night in Penang and I received an sms from Mandy at around 4.00 p.m. saying that she just had a very late lunch and would not be so keen on having dinner, so I told her that we would be perfectly all right on our own and she would not need to go through all that trouble of driving over from the mainland to the island just to take us out for dinner.

I had told Edmund and Eugene then that we would not be free for dinner, so subsequently, we decided to just grab a bite at some place nearby the hotel where we were staying. There was a nyonya restaurant across the road but it looked kind of posh (and expensive) and we were too lazy to dress up nicely to go and dine there in style.

In the end, we went to this Indian place located by the side, somewhere at the back, of the Gurney Resort Hotel & Residences (in between Starbucks and Roadhouse Grill…and Subway is on the other side of Starbucks) where I bought the nice roti jala for breakfast the first morning we were in Penang.

I wanted their roti jala again but unfortunately, they said that they only served that for breakfast, so in the end, I had their chicken tikka with naan bread…

I think that cost RM10.00 and I quite enjoyed it.

My missus had the nasi bryani (chicken) in claypot…

…which was quite good also but somehow or other, the claypot was not hot at all – unlike what I had at the Indian restaurant in Sungai Petani.

Melissa had their chicken tandoori – naan set…

…and like the rest of what they had to offer, it was also pretty all right. I can’t remember how much I paid for what my missus and daughter had but if I’m not mistaken, both were around RM7.00 or RM8.00 each.

I did not have the  mango lassi the other day at lunch, so that evening, I decided to give it a try…

I think it was nicer at that other place we went to – more concentrated, even though a bit too sweet…and come to think of it, between the two places, even though this one was quite good, what we had for lunch the other day was definitely much nicer.

Anyway, beggars can’t be choosers, considering that we do not have a full-fledged Indian restaurant in Sibu and it would probably be quite a while before we would be able to enjoy some authentic Indian cuisine again…

He’s the man…

…and now, the post that Merryn is waiting for! LOL!!!

I met Eugene for the very first time when I was in Penang in August, 2009. He was and still is, a very nice man – so easy to get along with…married to a beautiful wife and blessed with two wonderful sons. He took my daughter and me to try the Hailam lor mee and the best or chian (oyster omelette) in town – the latter was so very nice that my daughter agreed to have a second helping.

During my recent trip to Penang, I met him again. He wanted to take us out for brunch but I had a lunch date already that same day with Edmund who turned out to be Bananaz‘s friend as well. Small world! Nevertheless, Eugene dropped by the hotel where we were staying and we had a good long chat…until it was time for me and my family to go for lunch.

Not one to give up so easily, Eugene insisted on taking us out for lunch some other day and we agreed upon Tuesday, considering that on Monday, we would be going on a day trip to the Cameron Highlands. We went to this old, unimpressive-looking coffee shop…

…along Burmah Road, directly opposite Loh Boon Siew’s old mansion…

I noticed that the kway teow th’ng was featured in some newspaper…

…but the guy was wrapping up his business for the day, so I was not able to try that.

The stall next to it seemed equally famous…

…as there was also a press review on it.

I ordered a bowl to try…and boy, it was really very good – the best har mee (prawn noodles), better than what I had before, and much nicer than what my missus had in Ipoh!

The lobak stall looked good too…

…and I ordered this plate of some of the items available…

…for only RM6.00. It was good too, better than Red Garden’s…and a lot nicer than the RM13.00 one at Gurney Drive.

While we were sitting there, waiting for what Eugene had ordered for all of us, a lady appeared selling these…

– otak-otak (RM2.50 each). She claimed it to be the best in Penang though  Eugene said that he could find something much nicer and cheaper elsewhere.

She gave me her handwritten “business card” which declared hers as “Mummy Otak – Penang famous…top nyonya…authentic” and she showed us photos of famous people including the state’s CM giving her the thumbs up!

I would say it was very nice…

…with its rich aromatic taste but I felt that the egg custard layer around the fish was a bit too soft/mushy. Well, if anybody’s interested and would like to place orders, her mobile contact is 016-4710430. We were leaving Penang the very next day and we already had too much luggage by then or else I wouldn’t mind ordering some to take home, considering that we cannot get any in Sibu…and if we can, they are usually not nice at all, plus the yummy ones at Payung are way too expensive to indulge in too frequently.

And now, the moment of truth! What exactly did Eugene take us to this coffee shop for? He wanted us to try this…

…nice and crispy chicken chop, coated with egg and fried. It was really good like everything else in that shop and the best part was – that generous serving cost ONLY RM3.50. I asked the lady and when she told me, I actually thought that I had heard wrongly. Unbelievable, I tell you!

After lunch, Eugene took us for dessert and instead of going to the one at Penang Road, he brought us to try the cendol at New World…

…which he said was one of the two (the other one being that celebrated stall at Penang Road) selected to represent Malaysia at some international food festival. It was good…and definitely worth going back for.

All in all, we had a wonderful outing with the Penang godfather, as what he claimed himself to be…and thanks a lot, Eugene, for taking your time off your busy schedule and going through all the trouble of taking us out. It sure was nice seeing you once again and I’m looking forward to seeing you again in April next year. I certainly hope the feeling’s mutual… LOL!!!

It’s beginning to feel a lot like Christmas…

It’s Christmas 2010, the season of love and joy…peace and goodwill to all men.

*Fam Mun Shun’s photo on Facebook*

This is the time when people will send cards to family and friends, near or far and go shopping for gifts for everyone.

I got these from my dear friend, Mandy, when I was in Penang…

…including three tubs of Cyn’s chocolate chip cookies. One did not survive the flight home and what was left of it was enough to fill that one bottle, that was all.

Annie-Q dropped by Penang when I was there and passed me these…

The fruitcake was homemade, she said, by coffeesncookies. I have not tried it yet but when we got home, the moment I opened the box, the whiff of brandy that drifted out of it was intoxicating enough to sweep me off my feet – boy, this is going to be good! Yum! Yum! LOL!!

My cousin, Stella, flew in to Penang for our niece’s wedding and she brought me these…

Do ignore the tag on the shirt though. Pssst, Stella…I think I need the 7XL, if you get what I mean! ROTFL!!! Jokes aside, this one fits me like a glove…but can’t button the collar. I think I’ve a very fat neck.

Stella’s sister from Brisbane gave me chocolates…

…and so did my auntie, Natalie, from Singapore…

Gosh! It certainly looks like I can have an open house for anybody who cares to drop by to celebrate this auspicious occasion…and no prize for guessing what I will be serving them! Wink! Wink!!!

And that is not all! Philip‘s son was in town to visit his grandmother and I took him out for dinner one night. He passed me these from the father all the way from the US of A…

…and my friend, Jimmy, gave me these…

…and a set of Tupperware containers – much to the delight of my missus who would find them very handy for stuffing her stuff.

My very nice and thoughtful ex-student, Xavier, came home for the Christmas holidays and insisted that I stayed awake that night so that he could stop by my house on his way home from the airport to pass me these…

…Seremban char siew pao…

I was never a fan…but these were VERY nice – smaller, but really nice! The char siew filling was really good…

…and the boy actually had to go all the way to Sunway to buy them – that was really so sweet of him.

Yes, it’s Christmas all over the world today. In Sibu, the Christian churches got together to join in a grand parade around town on Saturday, 18th December – an idea initiated sometime ago by our late YB…singing Christmas carols and songs like what they have been doing over the years…

*Fam Mun Shun’s photo on Facebook*

It never fails to draw people by the droves each year…

*Fam Min Shun’s photo on Facebook*

…and for one thing, it certainly serves to remind the local folks the true meaning of Christmas which certainly has nothing to do with things like Santa, toy soldiers and fake snow…

*Fam Mun Shun’s photo on Facebook*

Other than the parade, the Sibu town council would hold a Christmas tree competition each year at the town square…

The response this year is not as good as previously and the trees are not as nice, probably because everyone is feeling the pinch of the predominantly not-too-favourable economic situation but one particular tree caught my attention, not because it was beautiful or anything but I would give it the thumbs up for creativity – the uniquely-Sibu kampua Christmas tree…

Yes, Christmas is the time for giving and forgiving…

Christmas greetings from me, my missus and Melissa to all family and friends, near or far…and may the blessings of this Holy Season be upon you all throughout the coming year.

Bang bang…

On our way back from the Cameron Highlands to Penang island, Mandy took us to this fishing village named Bukit Tambun. There, you can find a lot of seafood restaurants…

…something like what we have at Kampung Buntal near Damai Beach, a short drive from Kuching city in Sarawak.

We had our dinner there before heading back to the hotel. The service was excellent and the dishes were served within a few minutes after we had placed our orders.

Melissa loved the deep-fried softshell crabs…

…and the clams…

The deep-fried mantis prawns weren’t really great…

…as the taste was drowned by all the batter and the deep frying.

Mandy also ordered two HUGE mantis prawns, steamed…

These were a lot nicer but I thought they tasted something like crab – the taste and texture of the meat of crab claws. If I’m not mistaken, the pair cost RM25.00 each.

Together with the fried mihun with salted fish that we also had…

…the whole meal cost RM107.00 and this time around, Mandy had grown wiser to my excuses like I had to go for a breath of fresh air or I needed to go to the loo…and managed to grab the bill first. Hehehehehe!!! Clever girl, you’re learning fast!

One horrendous thing that transpired that very night at that very same restaurant was – a man got shot while leaving the place…not once but three times. Luckily, he survived! You can read the details of that incident in this newspaper report. If that had happened while we were there, I’d probably have nightmares for at least a week! Luckily, we were early and left long before the traumatic incident occurred.

Mandy got us back to the hotel safe and sound by around 9 or 10.00 p.m. It certainly was a great and memorable day trip for the whole family and thanks again to Mandy for making it possible.

Up in the hills…

Other than being a hill resort and tourist attraction, the Cameron Highlands is basically an agricultural region with tea plantations all over…

…and beautiful gardens growing all kinds of flowers…

…of all shapes and sizes…

…and in an myriad of colours…

There are also cactus plants with colourful blooms…

…and pitcher plants, otherwise known as monkey pots…

Vegetables, temperate ones especially, are one of the main products from the region, as well  as strawberries…

They also plant grapes there…

…and even their own variety of apples…

My missus, daughter and I certainly enjoyed our trip to the Cameron Highlands tremendously, thanks to my very dear friend, Mandy, who went through the trouble of picking us up in Penang and taking us all the way there and back. We certainly appreciate that so very much, Mandy. You’re truly a gem!

For your information, this is the last post on Cameron – next stop…Bukit Tambun!

Moment by moment…

Believe you me, we were already bursting at the seams after the steamboat lunch but we just could not resist stopping by this place for the irresistable strawberry desserts…

They had all the alluring stuff on display in the glass counter like this blackforest cheesecake…

…and their strawberry strudel…

My daughter had that (RM7.50)…

…and she loved it very much.

I had the strawberry and ice cream crepes (RM12.90)…

…and it was simply out of this world.

My missus had something called “Melts-in-the-mouth” (RM12.90)…

…which was equally nice and Mandy ordered the strawberry ice cream boat (RM8.90)…

Gosh!!! All those to-die-for desserts and for a moment, I actually believed that heaven was a place on earth – right there at Strawberry Moment, Cameron Highlands.