As long as the price is right…

Prices may differ from place to place and even between shops in the same town. Some people may scout around and compare prices but usually, I will not bother.  Considering the fuel cost and the parking fees and the time spent, I will just buy wherever is most convenient as long as the price seems reasonably affordable.

Of course, if you’re in some remote places, you can expect things to be a bit more expensive like in Selangau, especially when the things come all the way from Sibu. My missus bought some steamed paos there recently for RM2.00 each and she was told that they came from Sibu. The filling was nice and there was quite a lot inside but I did not like the mushy skin. Here in Sibu, I bought these at a shop facing the Dewan Suarah market (next to the coffee shop facing the primary & secondary schools there) the other day for RM1.80 each, 20 sen cheaper than in Selangau…

…and the filling was pretty good too…

…though I did not like the char siew ones…

Even the colour was not like the usual char siew colour. The lady told me that they were made at some place in Lanang Road and I did not probe for further details so I do not know exactly who or where. After all, I don’t think I would be buying those again as I did not quite fancy the skin. It was nicer than the ones in Selangau but I would prefer the old-time sponge-like skin instead of this dim-sum pao kind…plus it was also not very well done – a bit too mushy for my liking.

I also bought these curry puffs at a bakery in town that day…

I reckoned that at RM1.00 each, they were not too expensive. They had bits of chicken inside…

…and the filling tasted great – very spicy and nice. They also had what they call the polo curry buns…or was it curry polo buns? That cost RM1.80 each and the filling was not as nice plus there was very little of it inside so I would not think that was a good buy.

I bought one of these out of curiosity…

Labelled as butter raisin or something, they looked like our Foochow lay peang minus all the sesame seeds on top…and I was wondering what they were.

It turned out to be a muffin…

…or bread of some kind so I had it toasted with a slice of cheese on top and served it with egg, fried sunny side up…

I enjoyed that but it is not cheap though – can’t remember the price now but I am pretty sure it was somewhere between RM1-2.00 and at that price, I would much sooner buy a loaf of sandwich bread and toast a slice to serve it this same way. Wouldn’t be much of a difference, if you asked me…and a whole lot cheaper at that!

Incidentally, what do you usually do with biscuits or cookies that have gone lao hong/masuk angin (limp)? Do you just throw them away? At the prices of things these days, especially those extra-expensive imported ones, it would be such a waste to do that. I’ve been doing this with the leftover homemade cookies after the Chinese New Year festival but perhaps, it would not be possible with chocolate-coated ones or those with some kind of cream inside.

Well, for Chinese New Year this year (and that’s half a year or so ago), my mother-in-law gave us a BIG bag of groundnuts…

…and somehow or other, the bag had been sitting in the storeroom all this while.

I took them out to try that day and found that they were no longer edible. But wait a minute! I spread all of them out in trays and warmed them up in the oven for a while before taking them out and letting them cool down. Once cool, I took one and try…

Hey! It works for groundnuts too! They were as good as new and since that day, I have been enjoying munching on these and I still have a bit more to go.

They say eating peanuts is like kissing – you have one, you would want one more…and more…and more. What do you think? LOL!!!