No spare parts, please

Last week, I had my 2nd visit to Everwin Kopitiam.

Saw someone posted on fb on this well known kueh chap so I decided to drop by one day with my girl before sending her off to school.

Apparently this kueh chap operator used to operate in Wisma Saberkas but I had never tried it. Curiosity kills cat, people said. And that was why I was eager to taste it out. So near to my place some more, so no harm going there. 

When I have kueh chap, I usually request for no spare parts in my kueh chap. So, no exception this time as I asked the operator to omit spare parts (internal organs) as I don't take them. And he was good enough to give more meats to substitute the spare parts. 

And I was marvelled when I removed the plastic spoon to reveal chicken feet in my bowl!! This was definitely first for me. Chicken feet in kueh chap. 

For RM6 (small) , it was nice and loaded with deliciousness. The broth was herbally but not overly strong to my liking. 

The best part was the chilli dipping.  Very hot. But I liked it. 

The only con was that they used plastic spoon and wooden chopstick. I never fancy disposable cutlery. Wish that they use the real spoon and chopstick.

Everwin Steamboat has opened for business for few months now. We haven't try it out yet. One day, when we feel like having steamboat. Opens daily from 9am. 

Different kind

My man took a week off to fly to KL to attend a good friend's wedding on Sunday and spent 2 nights in KL before flying off with his old Kapit primary school classmates to Laos. 

A great holiday with his friends in Laos but he wasn't used to their food. Different kind of cuisine, not what we eat over here. So he was kind of missing our local cuisine while he was there although he spent 2 nights there. 

He didn't buy much but did bought few fabrics and ground coffee home.  Unusual for him as he tends to buy a lot whenever he is travelling. However this round he was mostly touring around Vientiane, and enjoyed their unique cuisine. 

The next day after he was back home, he brought me and Jan out for breakfast. He was taking additional day leave. And what we had for breakfast?? Mamak!! 

Jan went for mee maggi goreng with egg on too. Lovely plate of fried noodle with nicely done fried egg, don't you agree??

As for yours truly, I was forever stuck with fried mee hoon. I enjoyed mine as well. Nicely fried and flavourful. 

As for the man, he missed his fried mamak noodle so he had it that morning. Must be satisfying for him.

So, each of us had different kind of fried noodles for breakfast. Which one would you like?? 

Downstairs

Before Jan and Jay went to their taekwondo centre which was on the 2nd floor of  Fat Cat Cafe, we had our lunch downstairs at this J&J cafeteria.

We initially wanted to settle our lunch in Fat Cat Cafe but they closed very early that Sunday. Totally nothing to eat and the staff ready to close the shop when we reached there around 1230pm. So we decided to walk to J& J Cafeteria, which was 2 shops away.

Weather was warm so I ordered this sarsi cincau but it came with milk in it. It was okay with me as I do enjoy milk.

Sarsi cincau (RM3. 20)

My lunch was nasi goreng kampung. I requested for less spicy as i was sharing it with Jamie.

Nasi goreng kampung (RM5. 80)

It was alright. The flavour didnt blown me away. Rice was slightly wet, which i dont really prefer.

The fried egg was overly done. Yolk too dond. And they used big anchovies which werent crispy for me. I prefer smaller and crispier anchovies in my nasi goreng kampung.

As for Jan and Jay, they weren't that hungry, so they went for the roti telur. 2 pieces for Jay while Jan had one piece.

Roti telur (RM2. 20)

We rarely patronise this cafe or other coffee shops in Stutong. Only when the kids have their taekwondo test that we would hang out in the vicinity. Otherwise we don't come here often. 

Have been, lately

How happy I am that the school holiday is finally here. A short one, one week. But one week is better than none. I need a little break!!

The past 2 weeks have been nothing but stress. The kids had their semester exams. So when the kids are sitting for their exams, I bet most parents would agree with me, the parents are more anxious and stressed than the kids!! Thank God, the tension time is done and dusted. 

The days are now longer this year. I have been busy doing chores and running errands here and there. And I spend more time on the road, chauffeuring the kids around daily. 

The weather has been warmer lately. That is how summer feels like. March is definitely a warm month. Lesser rain this month. 

2 weeks ago, a lady cousin and cousin-in-law of hubby had a short visit to Kuching. It has been ages since we met them so we took the time to have dinner with them over here.

Initially we wanted to dine at this stall but it didn't open that particular day. Nevertheless the seafood in this stall was good and fresh. Everyone had a good time catching up and enjoying the mouth-watering seafood.

So look forward to the holiday break. Nothing special planned for the holiday but I am planning for a little me time. Facial session is long overdue. And maybe a trip to seaside village on one of the weekends but nothing confirmed. I leave it to my hubby to plan. If he is up to it as he just came back from his Laos holiday yesterday.

Signing off now. So to you, have a great weekend! 

It has been nothing but...

A long and packed day.

Last Sunday was filled up with activities. Everyone woke up around 7am (yours truly woke up at 6am and couldn't dozed off anymore) as we had a day ahead. 

It was a glorious day with lovely weather. After our breakfast, we dropped hubby to airport as he had a plane to catch and wedding to attend to. 

Jamie as little helper in Sunday school

With the kids, we went for our church service. We were very early. Kids with their cousins attended their Sunday school while I attended the sermon in the main building.

After that, we went to Stutong as the kids had taekwondo upgrading test in the afternoon. We ate our lunch at J&J Cafeteria before the kids adjoined to their centre. Jamie and I hang around while waiting for both to complete their test which was around 4pm.

In the evening, after my simple home cooked fried rice with fried mackerel, we had a movie night. At least the kids enjoyed the movie before they were off to bed. I was really exhausted that day!!

For a change

My man has been crazy about vegetarian food lately. One weekend we had vegetarian for lunch 2 days in a row. 

We tried 2 vegetarian shops that weekend, first was the one in Mjc and the next day, this shop in 3rd Mile (the other row of shop next to Timberland Medical Centre). 

I have been here once but many years ago. They operated 2 lots but currently one lot was undergoing renovation. 

They served economy rice but there was few dishes for you to order as well. We opted for the economy rice that afternoon. 

All self-service, we took rice and dishes ourselves. 

My portion. I wasn't that hungry since I had late breakfast that day. So I took little of its pandan fragrant rice and dishes. I was sharing my rice with Jamie. The vegetable tempura was my favourite; it was tasty. 

The kids didn't really fancy vegetarian especially the boys. So guess we wouldnt be having it that soon. 

Stuffed

It has been a while since we went to this coffee shop opposite of Sungai Maong Police Station. One Saturday, we decided to have breakfast there. 

The kids had their kolo mee while mummy and daddy went for the Malay stall. 

Hubby asked for fried egg on top of the noodle and it came out like this! 

Hubby's fried noodle, which was huge portion. Even my man was flabbergasted to see his noodle. Too much for him to handle, he can't even finished it all. 

On the other hand, I am not a big fan of yellow noodle so I went for fried mee hoon. I also got an egg on top. Lovely done with runny egg yolk.. Slight heat; just enough for that flavour and spiciness. I was also having problem finishing up my plate. In the end, we brought home the leftover instead of stuffing ourselves to the maximum. Lol. 

For RM4 per plate, it was a delightful but hearty breakfast. I was stuffed after having my breakfast and I sure wasn't too hungry even when it was dinner time.

Sweet

Although CNY has been over for not more than a month, I still have few leftover at home. A couple of snacks, some mandarin oranges. We didn't bought much this year so it was nice not to be burden with many leftovers.

Last weekend I finished up all the new year cake (nian gao). 

I simply fried it with egg. The best combo, in my opinion. The verdict. The cake was tasty, sweet and soft with coated egg. Best to take with tea. 

Ingredients:
Nian gao
1 or 2 eggs depends on the size and number of nian gao used
Pinch of salt or more
Cooking oil for shallow frying

Method:
1. Refrigerate the nian gao in fridge for few hours before taking it out. Slice the cake about 1/4 inch thick.
2. Break an egg and add pinch of salt. Mix well.
3. Dip each sliced nian gao into the egg batter.
4. In a heated pan with oil, add nian gao one by one, do not overcrowd the pan.
5. Fry for about 1 minute on each side of the nian gao before take it out. Place the nian gao on top of kitchen towel to absorb excess oil and ensure outer layer stay crispy.

Other recipe : Nian gao wrapped popiah and fried nian gao

He's cooking

My man rarely go into the kitchen and when he does, he will usually impress me with something new. I mean, other than my kitchen in a mess, he comes up with new dish that I have never cook before. Isn't it fabulous to have someone to cook for you sometime? I don't mind doing the washing though. 

On one Saturday, he "borrowed" the kitchen and whipped up this pork belly dish. I called it "3-ways pork belly" because you need 3 different ways to cook it.

A tedious recipe but you would be wowed by its flavour.  

Ingredients:

Slab of pork belly, cut into cubes

2 cans of beer

A thumb sized ginger, sliced

3 dried chillis, sliced and disposed of the seeds

Shaoxing wine

Dark soy sauce

Oyster sauce

Black pepper

Salt

Rock sugar

2 star anise

Water to boil

Cooking oil for frying

Methods:

1. Boil a pot of water. When the water is boil, add in the pork belly. Add few slices of ginger and some Shaoxing wine. Let the meat cook for 5 minutes before drain out. 

2. In a wok, heat up some oil to pan fry the pork belly. Fry till both sides are golden brown, do not over dry the meat. 

3. Leave some oil in the wok. Saute the remaining of ginger slices and dried chilli till fragrant. 

4. Add Shaoxing wine, star anise, dark soy sauce, oyster sauce, black pepper, salt and about 5 small lumps of rock sugar. Saute for few minutes before add in the beers. 

5. Slowly add in the pork belly. Cover the wok and let it simmer at low heat for at least an hour. 

6. Take out the pork belly from the wok. The remaining gravy in the wok cooked till reduce. Pour all over the meat and serve warm. 

Follow her

It was one of the weekdays when Jan and I went to Aeon Mall to get some grocery. After we were done with our shopping, we went to Makan Village Food Avenue for lunch.

The place was pretty much deserted since it was still early for the lunch goers. 

Jan went to her usual stall, the Western Cuisine whenever we were here. So I ended up follow her, ordered my lunch from the same stall.

Her fish & chips for RM16.90. The lightly battered dory fillets with coleslaw and fries as side dishes.

Mine is grilled chicken chop with mushroom sauce (RM16.90) with same side dishes. The portion wasn't big but enough for me. Not too filling, just nice.

I did enjoyed my chicken chop. The sauce was good and the chicken chop was tender and not dry. 

Little park

Our first walk at the little neighbourhood park since its reconstruction last year.

Most walk paths have been rebuilt, new structure was added and new trees and grass were grown. 

They also added toilet facility there last year. 

But I do wish that they will do the remaining part of the park which is rather slippery when it rains. My Jamie had a little slip there but it didn't dampen his mood to walk around. 

Weekend Menu #94 : Tofu mushroom soup

The weather has been rather drastic lately. Some days, it is so warm but other days, it rains and cold almost the whole day through.

This soup was very comforting especially on a cold day. It was invented by yours truly as a way to clear up the fridge and use up whatever she could salvage.

This was rather a very simple recipe, nothing much to it. Just add whatever you want. 

It consists of two of my favourite ingredients. Soft tofu! It was for the steamboat on 2nd day of CNY and left this one pack in the fridge. The expiry would be in few months time. And mushrooms! I love mushrooms and my fridge and dry pantry are never short of them, both dry and fresh.

My family and I really love this simple yet comforting tofu mushroom soup. We could just have our rice with this soup only. 

Ingredient:
1L water
A pack of soft tofu, cut in pieces
Minced meats, hand picked and rolled
Mushrooms (I used white oyster and enoki mushrooms)
A handful of curly leaf vegetable, sliced
A cube of chicken stock
A dash of pepper
Pinchful of salt
Shao xing wine
Sesame oil
Fried shallot (optional)

Methods:
1. Boil a pot of water. Add chicken stock cube and let it simmer.
2. Slowly add minced balls into the hot water.
3. When the meats float in the water, add in mushrooms and let it cook for a minute or so.
4. Then add the seasoning according to taste. Lastly add in the vegetable and soft tofu.
5. Serve warm and for garnishing, add fried shallot. 

As usual

It has been a wet weekend lately over here. And last Sunday wasn't an exception as we had a rather heavy rain in the morning. 

Opposite is the Teochew temple

And with such cold and wet weather, one would feel like having something warm. And the thought of Sarawak laksa sounds enticing all the sudden. 

That was how we ended up in Lau Ya Keng on Sunday morning. We braved the rain, parked our car behind the post office and walked through the shops to reach Lau Ya Keng. 

The place wasn't packed as it was just slightly after 8am. While waiting for our food, we took the time to look around this old building. Used to be an opera place here, I don't think they hold any opera shows anymore. 

A glass of nice, thick teh o to warm me up.

Hubby had his usual whenever we came here. Kueh chap without Kueh for RM8! 

And my normal size laksa. RM6 for this lovely bowl of Sarawak laksa. The last time I had its laksa was when our KL friends came over and we took them here for breakfast on their last day before they flew home. 

As usual, kolo mee for the kids. Each with their own kolo mee. The portion wasn't much so they could finished up the noodle on their own, including Jamie. 

After our breakfast, we headed back to our car. The rain still persisted and it only stopped around 1pm that day, just when we reached home after church and lunch.