Something I never had…

This was something that I had never seen, much less eaten before…

mamakucing gave me these when I was in KL at the end of May till the beginning of June and at first, I thought they were the Cantonese pillow chang (dumplings) but they were not. Actually, they were the Vietnamese dumplings called Banh Tet…

This is a savoury but sometimes sweetened cake made primarily from glutinous rice, which is rolled in a banana leaf into a thick, log-like cylindrical shape…

…with mung bean and pork fillings, then boiled. After cooking, the banana leaf is removed and the cake is sliced into wheel-shaped servings…and I read somewhere that I could pan-fry them lightly to eat.

I took them out of the freezer on the day of the Duanwu Jie (端午节) or the Dragon Boat Festival, also known as the Chang Festival. I had to defrost it first before trying to slice it. Unfortunately, I found that it was too crumbly so I was not able to cut it into into nice slices. Perhaps it was because there was too much mung beans inside and once cut, the whole thing would just fall apart. In the end, I just steamed it to heat it up and ate…

It was very nice. The taste was different from the different kinds of chang that we would be more familiar with. The pulut (glutinous rice) had a taste of its own – very fragrant and very nice with the use of the banana leaves to wrap it up…and there was the mung bean taste to add to that and also that of the meat. I loved the meat that they had inside – something like the canned stewed pork, maybe a lighter and nicer version. I did wish they had more meat though…especially at the ends where there were only the mung beans, no meat. On the whole, I would say that I liked it a lot!

Papakucing kept telling me to pan-fry it to eat but I had given one to my mum and eaten up my own so there wasn’t anymore. Well, it so happened that my mum did not want to try so she asked me to take it back. I wouldn’t know whether it was because I told her I had only two and I had given her one – she’s always been like that, not eating herself and saving it for the children.

Anyway, this time around, I cut it cold from the fridge without removing the banana leaf and I managed it quite well without making a mess. Then I greased the pan with a bit of oil and lightly fried the slices…

…before sitting down to eat with Thai chili sauce mixed with my missus’ homemade pounded cili padi dip. Oooooo…it was soooooo very much nicer this way but unfortunately, that’s the last of the lot unless some kind soul thinks it fitting to give me some more again. Wink! Wink! Hehehehehehe!!!!

So, did you get to eat a lot of changs during the festival this year? I did not go out to buy any – in fact, I had stopped doing that for a while now. The ones here would be what we call the Hokkien chang which would be darker with the use of dark soy sauce and five spice powder. I was told that this would be the kind one would find in Taiwan which came as no surprise to me as there are many Hokkiens in the island republic.

Unfortunately, over here these days, for RM2.00, you can get a smaller one in which you can hardly see any meat at all. It seems that they use minced meat and mix it with the pulut and everything else. The taste is still there but it is not the same anymore and without doubt, the pleasure of eating it is gone. The RM3.00 ones would be much bigger but inside, you will find more or less the same thing, just a bit more of it and they’ve salted egg added. Sadly though, there would be so little of the egg that more often than not, you may be able to taste it but not see it.

Fortunately, I was given some changs as well by mamakucing and I managed to save three for the festival…

Hers would probably be the mainland ones…not the Taiwan Hokkien ones as they were lighter without the strong soy sauce and five spice powder taste.

As you can see, she had a lot of filling inside including the star attraction – the very delicious stewed pork belly…

…and other than that, she had chestnut, mung beans, shitake mushroom, dried prawn and salted egg inside so you can imagine how you would be able to savour the different tastes as you eat around that huge thing. Yummmmm!!!!!

That’s it for the festival this year and thank you once again, mamakucing – you certainly saved the day! I will have to start worrying about where I will get the changs from this same time next year but I guess we’ll just have to cross the bridge when we come to it…

So far apart…

We were very close, my paternal cousin and I…

*second from left*

…the main reason being the fact that we’re about the same age and we shared a lot of common interests. We liked the same singers and songs and kept up with the latest hits and we would send requests for songs to be played on the radio and dedicate them to friends…and we would go to parties and dances at the Sibu Recreation Club (SRC)…and we used to hang around a lot together. Then, she left for her further studies in New Zealand…and later moved to Australia where she has settled down permanently with her husband and family.

I cannot recall seeing her again after she left Sibu so many years ago…and once, when she came back, we did not get to meet as I was away attending my niece’s wedding in Penang. This time around, however, we did not let the chance slip by and we did manage to go out together for tea here when she was back in town…

In fact, we were on the same flight back from the LCCT to Sibu that day.

She had had some kompia earlier (toasted with minced meat filling) somewhere but somehow, they did not come across like what she used to have before so I just had to let her try the deep-fried ones with pork belly/three-layer pork here and she enjoyed them very much. I also ordered the salt & pepper calamari and the dry fried sui jiao (chicken dumplings) that I had had on a previous visit  and for our drinks, she had the papaya milk smoothie (RM5.90)…

…while Melissa had the iced lemon soda (RM5.20)…

I thought the jug-like glass mug that they used for that was kind of nice.

I had the iced lemon tea (RM4.20)…

…and it seemed that they had blended it and hence, there was a lot of froth making it look like the dark beer that I had many years ago in England.

But another reason why I chose that place was the fact that I wanted to try this new item on their menu…

– the chocolate lava cake (RM9.00)…and I must say it did not disappoint me, not at all. In fact, it was so very good that all of us were really very impressed and loved it to bits.

Just look at what happened when we cut the cake – the chocolate inside oozed out slowly like volcanic lava…

Absolutely perfect! The only time I had this before was when I was in New Zealand…and I must say that perhaps they may have better elsewhere but what we had paled in comparison. This one swept me off my feet…and if not for the fact that I’m trying to cut down on my intake of sweet stuff, I would have gone back there again and again for more.

It sure was nice seeing you again, Yvette, and I really had a lovely time that day catching up on old times and talking about people that we knew…and of course, that awesome chocolate lava cake simply made our day. Thanks so much for the very nice pistachio & almond nougats…

– not really sweet and very fragrant with all the nuts in them…and I hope you did not mind the fact that I did not get you anything. Blush! Blush!

Incidentally, my ex-student was back in town from the US…and we managed to go out for tea together the very next day and he gave me the chocolates that you can see in the above photograph. Thanks, Raphael – that was indeed so very sweet of you.

Personally, I find that it really feels so nice getting together with people so dear especially when we’re now so far apart as somehow it leaves a warm and fuzzy feeling inside…and I do hope that feeling’s mutual.

Nothing like home…

It was already mid-afternoon when we got home from our holiday that day and there were lots to do – the laundry, the unpacking and all and we had to hop over to see my mum for a while as we had been away for so many days…so we decided not to cook dinner and to just grab something to eat outside instead.

We went to this place that we used to frequent a lot before but we do not go there so often these days. Melissa wanted the cangkuk manis…

…and in my opinion, the best in town is right here.  Funny how when you’ve been away for a while, you would crave for stuff that you love and can only find at home. Annie-Q would definitely have this more than once every time she comes home to Sibu.

This used to be Melissa’s favourite – their breadcrumb-coated fish fillet…

…and she liked their own-made tofu as well…

…so we ordered those and had sea cucumber soup to wash all that down.

I do not usually have coffee in the evenings in case I would not be able to sleep but I just had to have a cuppa…

…of their very special brew – blended so that you would get that bit of froth on top, making it look like Guinness stout. Nothing beats our own local coffee, none of those expensive ones that I had in KL…and I remember the boss telling me that they get the coffee powder from here, the same place where I would get mine. The best part, of course, was that this was only RM2.50…and you can get pretty good ones as well for only RM1.50 at some selected coffee shops in town.

The bill came up to RM35.00 for the food but I guess that was pretty reasonable for three persons, considering that they very generous with the sea cucumber…

…and that does not come cheap these days.

So, after the dinner, we went home and finished off what we had to do before calling it a day.

Connection……

I suppose the only connection between East and West Malaysia would be by air unless one wouldn’t mind sailing in some cargo ship from here to say, Port Klang and unfortunately, there is only one direct flight daily from KLIA to Sibu and back via the national airline but thankfully, there are some five or six flights if you choose to go on the so-called cheap airline. There is a new airline now but I have yet to give it a try…but when they first advertised that they would be flying this route, those who logged on to their website right away were disappointed to discover that seats on their flights during the school holidays were “not available”.

That is one problem that we face over here and the flights would be extra expensive during these peak periods and with the Gawai Festival at the time, the tickets were not at all cheap – I had to fork out over RM700.00 per person for us to go over for Melissa’s convocation and the holiday that we had after that. This is one thing that people on the other side do not realise, it seems, especially the people in the ministry concerned who would fix dates according to their whims and fancies and change them whenever they feel like it…and we would be the ones who would have to pay the hefty penalties for any changes made to the bookings.

Anyway, at least with the available connection by air, it is relatively easy for us to fly over anytime – all we have to do is to fork out the money – and the other day, we went over using this aircraft…

They have a very good system here at the airport in Sibu now whereby they will check the boarding passes first and make the passengers queue in three groups – those in the hot seats, the ones in the seats at the back and the remaining passengers in the front. When it is time to board the aircraft, they will direct the privileged ones to board first followed by the second group using the back staircase and finally, the latter using the front staircase. When we went that day, I thought that was very good and everything was done in an orderly manner…unlike at the LCCT where despite the seat numbers being pre-allocated, there was still a mad rush like commuters boarding the LRT or the public buses.

There was a Korean stewardess on duty (the Korean flag was on her name tag) that day but I don’t think I managed to snap a photograph of her. It certainly was not this one…

…and I guess most everybody would know that their uniform is different on weekends and they would be dressed in something more casual and comfortable.

The flight was on time…or ok…there was a slight delay of 5-10 minutes, both ways, but that would be pretty usual, I would think. We just have to give and take a little. Oops!!! The overhead stowage compartment fell open by itself during take off…

– luckily, none of the bags inside came tumbling down.

I pre-booked all our meals for our flights and for my missus, I got her this green curry…

…and this spaghetti was for Melissa…

…but she felt like having my bryani instead…

…so we swopped what we had and I finished mine in no time at all. She did not quite enjoy hers as it was a bit too strong on those (Indian) spices…but too late – the pasta was already all in my tummy. Hehehehehe!!!!

I don’t think it is cheaper to pre-book your meals though – the only thing would be the fact that you would be able to get what you want to eat from their menu and not restricted to whatever extras they may have on board. Besides, you will get complimentary mineral water – but, no, you do not get those small bottles (half the size of those small ones sold in the shop) anymore. All that you will get these days is just a little cup that is sealed ever so tightly that it is so difficult to open without spilling the water all over. I wish they would give that thin straw that normally comes with those little cups of water so people can easily poke through the plastic and drink the water without any hassle at all.

This was the aircraft that we used on our flight back to Sibu…

…and for once, we did not have to walk half a mile to board the plane, thank God for small mercies.

There was a Korean flight attendant on this flight too – a steward this time…

…though in my opinion, he did not look quite as Korean as those guys that we see on tv or in the music videos. LOL!!!

For our return flight, I got my missus the roast chicken…

…and a slice of pizza for Melissa…

That looked kind of small and I wanted to give her my panini instead…

…but she said it was enough for her and she quite liked it actually.

We did not have any problem whatsoever flying over and coming home other than the grouses over the not-very-pleasant place that they call an airport terminal…and I must say I loved the landings on both flights. It was smooth and it was like the plane(s) just glided onto the runway unlike the jolting bumps that I’ve  experienced when taking the national airline.

Well, it looks like this is the last post on our 9D/8N holiday break in the peninsula…so the regular posts will resume tomorrow.   Now, was that a huge sigh  of relief that I heard all round? LOL!!!

STOP PRESS: DISCLAIMER!!!
This headline appeared in one of the local newspapers yesterday: “Lovers jetty collapses” [SIC] and if one can recall, I was there a few weeks ago on the 28th of May…

No! No! No! It wasn’t me! This has nothing to do with the fact that I was there not too long ago! LOL!!! In fact, this was as far as I went – where I was standing to take the photograph of the jetty and the beautiful sunset and I think the part that collapsed was a little further up, past the sign – you can click this link here to see the photograph and read the full report.

As a matter of fact, I had goosebumps just going that short distance along the jetty as I thought it was kind of narrow and there were no rails, nothing to hold on to…and I quickly made my way back to where it was safe and sound. Hopefully, now they would do something about that…

Hands open…

I did not shop much when I was in the peninsula and even though we were staying at the hotel adjoining the mega mall, most of the time, I only went out of the room to go and eat. I did drop by one of the supermarkets there though and I spotted these vanilla cookies…

Gee! There’s wee’s satay sauce…and now, there are Arthur’s cookies too!!! We only bought a tube to take back to the room and try and Melissa loved it a lot! So I went back there again to buy some more to give to friends and to take home to Sibu. They’re made in the EU, Spain to be exact and if I remember correctly, they were RM4.90 each…or was it RM4.99?

We also bought these mushrooms…

…to take home. Melissa loves them…and we can hardly get them here. When we do get to see them in the supermarket, most of the time, they would be old and rotting away.

My missus and Melissa were out all the time, browsing around the shops but I don’t think they bought a lot of things other than a few books and things Melissa would want to use in school and some t-shirts. My missus did buy quite a bit that day at Tanjung Sepat…and I suppose that was it! For one thing, we did not have much luggage space left as people kept giving and giving and giving me things. I have mentioned most of them in my previous posts but take my word for it – there are some more!

I got these from Claire through smallkucing‘s mama…

– a special keychain with my name on it from Thailand and a t-shirt that she bought in Scotland. Gosh!!! That must have been so expensive!

And other than all the things that she had been giving me almost every day during my stay there, mamakucing gave me some more stuff to take home…

– more of these special chang  that she made herself and  you can judge for yourself from this photograph whether they were nice or not…

Nom! Nom! Nom!

She also gave me these…

Initially, I thought they were kee chang, the yellow alkaline ones but they were not. Inside, there was plain pulut (glutinous rice) with a piece of pandan leaf. I gave some to my mum and she loved them very much, dipped in a bit of sugar.

And if you think that was all, I’m afraid you’re mistaken. I also got these banh tet from her as well…

…and at the time of writing, I had not tried them yet so I would be in no position to say whether they were nice or not but she did tell me that I would have to slice them like Swiss rolls and deep fry before eating…and she added that her in-laws in Trengganu love them very much, but not her. Hmmmmm!!!!

Gosh!!! Then, there were also the bak kua (BBQ meat slices) and the meat floss too – I did not take a photograph of those and as a matter of fact, I just cannot remember when exactly I got them – there were simply too many things that they kept giving me literally every day that I am at a total loss as to when I got what.

All too soon, our holiday ended…and we had to come home but things did not stop coming! Every year, without fail, my friend, Richard, would make his out-of-this-world nyonya changs…

…and he would never forget to spare me some…

…and I, likewise, would give my mum a few as she especially loves these nyonya changs and we can’t get them here…and nobody around, other than Richard, can make these…

…and I dare say that his are better than those celebrated professionally-made ones that I bought in Malacca…or the ones that I got from Kuching.

Then, the very next day, yet another friend of mine, ah^kam_koko’, stopped by in transit on his way back to his jungle school after the two-week holidays and he bought me some of these…

– the very best sio pao (baked buns) aka meat pastries…and the equally good curry puffs from Kai Joo Lane in Kuching. He must have read this post of mine where I was not too happy about the Seremban ones and singing praises of these Kuching ones instead.

Oh? I noticed that the filling in the sio pao was different from what it was like before…

There used to be more colour as they used red-coloured char siew (BBQ pork) cut into little cubes and there were green peas too. It didn’t matter much though for they still tasted absolutely great and the pastry was as nice as ever – soft, crumbly shortcrust with its nice butter fragrance.

They use the same pastry for their curry puffs…

…and as you can see they’re very generous with the spicy curry beef filling – a whole lot nicer than the ones I had in KL, I would say.

There are more, I tell you, but I think I will feature them separately in some later posts…but frankly, I do find it somewhat embarrassing to just sit here with my hands wide open to receive gifts from everybody when I have nothing much to give in return…other than my utmost gratitude and appreciation for everyone’s kindness and generosity. To whom it may concern, thank you so very very much…

Stay…

I think I have mentioned earlier, probably more than once, that on the first three nights of our holiday in the peninsula, we stayed at the airport hotel that I like very much as it is affordable, comfortable enough with everything I would need, prompt efficient service and breakfast is provided starting at 5.30 a.m. and actually, if you go sometime after 5, there would be things to eat already unlike at other hotels where you would need to starve till 6.30 or at some, 7 even.

The buffet spread was pretty much the same as on the previous occasions when I stayed here though – I went on the first morning we were there and I had their nasi lemak…

…along with a few other things. It was a bit early so there was no sign of the hard-boiled eggs and I had to make do with the not-that-nicely-done scrambled ones…and of course, the rice did not come anywhere near what we have at the kampung stall here in Sibu.

For my second helping, I had the waffles, one egg – sunny side up and some papayas…

My missus got up a bit later and went on her own as Melissa would rather go on sleeping till it was time to get up and get ready to go for the briefing and rehearsal for her convocation at Putrajaya. The second morning, none of us went as we had to be up early to get ready to go for the big event that day…and on the third day, my missus and Melissa went while I decided to give it a miss as I was “busy” online…and besides, if you may recall from my earlier posts, we had a lot of nice things to eat in the room.

There is a nice swimming pool too at this hotel. Of course, I did not go – not in the horrendously scorching hot weather that they were experiencing over there at the time but somebody did and had a whole lot of fun. Too bad they did not have a pool at the hotel where we moved to…

…on the 4th day there, adjoining the mega mall in the city. Checking in was a breeze…

…as I had made my reservations and paid for everything online – it only took a few seconds before we were on the way to our room…with the eager-beaver, ever-ready-to-help bellhop tagging along with our luggage.

We stayed here a few times before when Melissa was smaller/younger and the rooms were very small then but it was all right in those days as all three of us could sleep in a queen-size bed without any problem…but this time around, I opted for a deluxe room…

…and I had an extra bed put in so we would be more comfortable throughout the rest of our stay…

Not only was the room big but the bathroom was very spacious too…

…and there was a big flat screen tv and a mini-bar which thankfully was empty so I could keep all my perishable edibles in it till it was time to fly back home, bringing all that stuff with us.

This was the view from the room…

I had read in some travel website that we should request for a room facing the city so we would get this view instead…

…(which was what we would get to see from the lift lobby) but I did not bother as I would not be spending my time sitting by the window all day gazing out at the scenery anyway.

Service was excellent. Within minutes upon checking in, somebody came sending the extra bed (and a pillow and an extra towel) that I had requested for. I asked for an extra pillow and the guy told me that there were two in the closet but I said that I would want one more. I had just closed the door after he had gone out when there was a knock…and there he was – with the pillow! Boy, I sure was impressed.

My missus and Melissa loved this hotel as they could go out browsing around the shops and supermarkets and departmental stores all day but usually, I would very much prefer to laze around in the room…and maybe go online. Thus, whenever we went out for breakfast – the room rate was not inclusive of breakfast at this hotel, I would come back first and nothing would please me more than a room that had been nicely cleaned, everything spick and span.

The first morning I was there, I put in a request at the reception counter as it seems to me that at most hotels, they would clean the rooms where the guests have checked out so that they could allocate those to the new guests checking in that day…and they would do all the other rooms later. When I came back to the room that first morning when  we were there, I found that they did not waste time to see to what I had wanted…and I found this note on the writing table…

If I remember correctly, they did this too at their sister hotel in Penang and I certainly was impressed by her good English. There was just a little slip in the use of the present perfect. I saw her outside later – an old lady…or let’s say, she certainly wasn’t young, kind of matronly and very polite and friendly…and I gave her a few ringgit for a cuppa.

The next morning, when I came back from breakfast, she was cleaning a room a few doors away and when she saw me, she quickly came to apologise as she had not done my room yet. I said it was perfectly all right and I went out again for a while and minutes later, when I returned, the room was already done.

Since that morning, for the rest of our stay, our room would definitely be nice and clean everytime after my breakfast…and everytime I saw her when I was going out or coming back, she would be full of smiles and not fail to greet me and carry on a bit of small talk. The day before we left, I found another note in the room…

The error with the present perfect was still there and the past tense was used when it wasn’t needed and I guess she would need some help with her punctuation as well…and there should be a gerund after “looking forward to” but that would come as no surprise as many students simply could not master that…and in fact, I’ve heard some deejays on the radio making that error as well sometimes. Still, I would categorise her command of the language as excellent  (and she can spell “tomorrow” correctly, pat on the back!)…compared to the kids we have in our schools and institutions of higher learning these days , I’m afraid to say.

We checked out after 5 nights at this hotel and all I had to do was to inform the girl at the desk at the time and leave – all she needed was just a split second for her to check on her computer and then tell me ever so pleasantly that everything had been settled, thank you very much and goodbye. With that kind of very friendly and efficient service, I certainly would not think twice about staying here again…should I ever get the chance.

Sweat…

We came home to Sibu on the 9th day in the morning. I had offers to send us to the airport but I turned them all down as I would not want to drag anyone out of bed so early on a Sunday morning and we could easily get a cab from the hotel, no problem at all.

We got there early – before the counter for our flight opened so we went here…

…for breakfast. It was so crowded and I felt ill at ease that we had to leave our trolley with our luggage outside. Anyone could just grab something and make a run for it and conveniently disappear in the crowd – we certainly wouldn’t have the chance to nab the guy, I’m sure.

Melissa only wanted the eggs…

…and I was quite put off by the fact that they were served with their yolks already broken. I would think for such a place, this was such an utter disgrace. Any kopitiam (coffee shop) in town would be able to do a much better job in serving that, I’m sure – with the yolks all intact, and at a very much cheaper price. Tsk! Tsk!

I can’t remember what my missus had…

I think it was their har mee (prawn noodles) except that there wasn’t a single prawn to be seen. Well, at least, she said it was nice so I guess that was all that mattered.

I wish I could say the same about my dry chicken hor fun though…

I should have ordered the soup version as I tried the complimentary soup and it was great!

As you can see from the above photograph, the airport was terribly congested and if there was any air-conditioning, I certainly could not feel it at all and my sweat was gushing out from every pore. Finally, when the counter was opened, I quickly went to get our boarding passes verified and drop off our big suitcase. I had to walk to one end of the check-in area to get the bag through security and the queues there  were so long…and knowing what people here are like, there would be some to whom the word “queue” was of no significance whatsoever. Having done that, I had to go back to yet another side and join the queue there…

I really cannot understand how they can think it is more convenient to check in online and just get our boarding passes verified at the airport and to just drop off our baggage when we would need to stand in line like everybody else. The only thing would be the fact that we would not need to pay the RM10.00 per pax for checking in at the counter.

Well, at least, I went early…but my cousin, back from Perth, was on the same flight and she came a little bit later and was so put off by the hassle and the lack of any proper system at security check and the check-in counter. They were running out of time and only at the eleventh hour did they open an extra counter or two to handle the rest of the passengers waiting in line. In the end, she only got to the departure gate around 15 minutes before take-off. Maybe that is why their flights are always delayed – just add 10 minutes to each flight and by the end of the day, the plane would be delayed by at least one hour already, if there is no untoward incident that would stall the plane even longer.

We did not proceed to the departure lounge right away as we were told to go in at around an hour before take off…so we went and sat at the seats provided beside the arrival gate which brings another question to mind? Why aren’t there any seats at the departure side and yet they have some at arrivals? I thought passengers arriving would make their way out of the place right away and would not be sitting around – not when comfort is the last word to describe the place in question?

Well, things weren’t much better at the departure lounge, I’m afraid. Nobody could sit in the front row for obvious reasons…

This certainly gives a whole new meaning to what they call “hot seats” including the ones for the disabled, the elderly and expectant mums. Probably whoever designed the airport thought that those glass panels…

…would help make the place brighter and they would be able to save electricity on the lighting. Unfortunately, it brought with it this problem and besides, the radiation also contributes greatly to the heat in the already hot and stuffy place.

I am pretty sure that it does not take a genius to figure out that the airport authorities make quite a bundle considering the amount they charge per passenger and there are so many passengers leaving and arriving at this airport in particular and it would not be half as bad if they could at least put in some effort to make things a bit better. This was the toilet INSIDE the departure lounge…

…used by people who can afford to fly! I dread to imagine what the ones outside would be like! Shudders!!! And just look at the little flies on the wall…

…and the graffiti on the door…

The public toilets in the little rural town of Selangau would put these to shame, honestly. In fact, it is not even a town – they call it a “pekan” which simply means a bazaar.

Well, the consoling fact is that they will open a new terminal soon…

…but if this is the general attitude of the individuals concerned and the way they run things round here, I really do not expect it to be very much better…

Just one more night…

We had just one more night left before the end of our holiday and we had to come back to Sibu…and that night had been booked way ahead by Annie-Q, long before we went over, as soon as she heard that we would be coming. She left for Chiangmai on a holiday with her family the day after we arrived but she said that she would be back that Saturday and insisted that we went out for dinner that night…

*Annie’s photo from Facebook…or was it Elaine’s?*

…with her, her hubby and her handsome twins. Elaine and her hubby and their pretty daughter, Amber, were able to join us as well.

She took us all the way to Damansara Heights to this place…

…that did not even have a signboard outside.

It did have a name though…

…and this was their menu…

LOL!!! This was cute! The poor pig looked like it had just come out from A & E…

…and I liked that…

“PRAISE THE LARD AND SATISFACTION WILL BE UPON THEE.”

It did not seem that what we had was on the menu though. This was their garlic chicken…

Very nice and I don’t usually eat garlic cloves whole but theirs tasted great and I enjoyed them and of course, the chicken too. The gravy that came with it was very nice as well and helped add to the enjoyment we had eating that.

We had the house salad…

…and the longans in it actually went pretty well with the rest in the dish.

This was the star attraction – the Lord of the Ribs…

…and it was simply awesome. Very very nice!

The huge slice of pork belly…

…was just as nice or perhaps even nicer as far as the taste went but I would very much prefer it well done instead of medium rare. Personally, I’m not all that comfortable with meat that is not completely cooked but I know many who would prefer it that way especially when it comes to beef steaks and stuff like that…so what I did was…I ate the parts that were not quite red in colour and I loved it! Very sweet and juicy and very tasty!

We also had this scampi dish towards the end…

…but after the delightful pork dishes, this paled in comparison. There was also a pretty good pasta dish as well but I did not manage to snap a photograph of that.

Dinner was great and the company too…and just look at what Annie brought back for us from Thailand. There were these very pretty colourful bags for my missus and Melissa…

…and bead necklaces and souvenirs too…

…and this probably came from their 7-Eleven…

…which obviously is heaps better than the miserable ones that we have in KL and other places in our country. My missus used one of the packets to cook this Thai green curry…

…and it was really very very good despite the appearance – with the thickness and colour of the gravy, it did not quite look like green curry but it did not matter one bit. We all loved it…a lot!

Getting back to my post proper, Elaine texted me to tell me that she would buy some chang (dumplings) for me to take back to Sibu but I told her not to do so as I already had a lot from smallkucing…and I specifically told her not to buy me anything but obviously, that fell on deaf ears and she gave me this fruit cake…

…that she made herself. Ah well!!! I guess technically, she did not buy anything – she made it herself. I have tried her fruit cake before – Christmas, 2010 and I served it at my dinner to celebrate the festive occasion and everybody loved it so much!

And talking about the Lord of the Ribs, this was like something from the Lord of the Rings. The following morning, as we were about to leave the hotel, I realised that I had lost my ring. We searched high and low in the room but to no avail. In the end we just gave up and left KL without it…or so we thought. A few days after we came home, I decided that I should shift the cake from the fridge to the freezer in order that we would be able to save it for Christmas at the end of the year or any special occasion before then and lo and behold!!! Look at what I found in the box…

The ring!!! Frankly, I do believe that things are all pre-destined and what will happen will happen and what will not will not and I guess it was not pre-destined that my ring and I should part and go our separate ways.

And if you think, that was all, you’re sadly mistaken. Annie asked me to pass a little bag of something to her mum in Sibu and when the mother came to collect it, she gave me this…

– one HUGE fish, patin no less and very very fresh! As for how I cooked that, I’m afraid you will have to wait awhile as I still have some things to blog about in connection with our holiday.

In the meantime, a million thanks to Annie and her family and also to Elaine and hers – we certainly enjoyed the dinner and thank you also for all the gifts and for taking time off to take us out. We are indeed very much obliged…

Been so long…

This restaurant…

…at Amcorp Mall, Petaling Jaya, has been around so long – since 1985 that one look at the menu…

…and you would be able to confirm the fact right away. Perhaps it is high time for some reprints, I would think because the place looks nice and new, pretty impressive unlike the tattered and torn cover that you can see in the photograph. Hmmm…1985. I was in KL in 1986 – I wonder where it was then because I don’t think this mall was around at the time.

Anyway, Mandy took us to the bookshop upstairs and after that, we stopped by this restaurant for lunch. I would say the the food was absolutely great, though not as spicy as they seemed to claim. We all loved the chicken kapitan…

…and this brinjal with salted fish dish was very nice too…

…but just when we thought nothing could beat their sambal sotong (squid) petai (stink beans)…

…out came their mango fish…

…that was simply out of this world. The fish, a siakap (barramundi), went absolutely well with the sour mango sauce and the strips of the fruit used to garnish it.

I would award them top marks for the food but should you happen to drop by this place, I would suggest that you give the desserts a miss. Mandy had the Red Ruby…

…and other than using the pickled version of the fruit, they also used canned santan (coconut milk) so it was far from satisfactory.

When Melissa ordered the sago pudding with gula melaka (palm sugar), I imagined something out of a low cylindrical mold with the nice palm sugar generously poured over it but what she was served in the end was nothing like that…

…and likewise, the cendol that I had…

…wasn’t anything to get excited about.

I don’t know how much that delightful lunch (delightful except for the desserts, that is) cost as when you go out with Mandy, don’t dream of ever picking up the tab. These sales people will never take no for an answer. Sigh!!!!

I was enthralled by the things they had for sale at the weekend flea market at the mall but we did not buy anything (other than a t-shirt for Melissa in aid of some deaf foundation) as we had already used up all our luggage allowance, check-in and hand carry, for our flight the following day…but I really had a great time walking and looking around. Should I go over to KL again, I must make a point to drop by there…and I will surely cart home at least one of the so very beautiful blue & white crockery sets that I saw that day.

Thank you, Mandy, so very much for the scrumptious lunch and I truly enjoyed that brief outing a lot…and thanks also for your help and everything during our stay in the peninsula!

According to plan…

I was loitering around the mega mall when I spotted this place…

…that I had read about in some people’s blogs and was hoping that I would be able to drop by one day…and I made up my mind there and then to go there for breakfast the very next morning. You may opt to sit outside, if you want…

…and I must say that I loved their decor…

They have some kind of an open kitchen concept as you can see what goes on inside through those little windows…and I loved their furniture too…

I did not take a photo of the chairs that they made out of oil drums but those looked great – very unique indeed.

My friend, Mandy, sent word that we must not have anything heavy that morning as she would be coming to take us out for lunch but since we would be leaving the following day, we just had to proceed according to plan. No. we did not have any of their cakes and stuff…

We simply had to have those HUGE western breakfast sets that we had quite a lot of when we were in New Zealand at the end of last year. We can’t get those in Sibu so you can say that I kind of missed that.

Just like in the cafes in New Zealand, they gave free plain water…

…and I would say the coffee was great…

If I remember correctly, that came with my Big Breakfast Platter set (RM26.00)…

…(together with a glass of fresh orange juice) but I was told that I would have to add another RM2.00 if I wanted ice with the coffee so I decided to do without.

My missus had the Egg Ben (RM17.00)…

…and a Long Black (RM8.00) to wash it all down. The total would come up to RM25.00 so I would reckon that having the breakfast platter would be a much better deal actually.

My daughter had the poached egg avocado-feta mash (RM21.00)…

…and she loved the mash to bits. She had an iced mocha (RM11.00) to go with it.

The poached eggs were all perfectly done…

…and we certainly enjoyed that very delightful breakfast that brought back pleasant memories of the wonderful time we had in New Zealand…