Spaghetti Vongole Version 2.0

After encountering an aching jaw due to rubbery frozen clams experience, I managed to hunt down a can of Rex lala (clams), wooohoooo say bye bye to leather tough frozen clams.

Did almost the same stuff as before but this time there are no mushrooms in my fridge. I have some celery for juicing though, not wanting to waste the celery, I nipped off the leafy part to lend some flavour to this spaghetti. Opened the canned clams... oh my... the clams were errrr so tiny! Drained them.

Fried some chopped garlic and onions till fragrant in extra virgin olive oil. Added in the clams. Next stirred in the celery leaves. Cooked spaghetti in separate pot till al dente and added to the fried mixture when done. Mixed thoroughly and served with freshly grounded black pepper and parmesan cheese.



Errrr you may see some flat strands in the picture above cos I have some wee bit of fettucini around which I've dumped in together with the spaghetti. I have to say the celery leaves did added in a wonder aroma and flavour to this dish. However the clams were way too small to be able to taste anything substantial. Hubby even have the cheek to ask me where are the clams.... grrrrrr...!!!!

Watch out... there might be Version 3.0 coming soon.

In The Spirit Of Christmas...

...I'm gonna really show you guys how my boiboi looked like after this and this episodes. Some uncles and aunties felt shortchanged hahahaha. Nevermind, the time have come and I felt a little generous.

This my cheeky little brat (most of the time) cum Angel (sometimes only)... boiboi!!!

Asked him to pose and smile for the camera... see how my cheeky fart did it!!!



He loved to hold on to any cameras to take pictures... this one he's using our dinosaur Sony DSC-F505. Just look at him... like a pro or not?? Hahaha... check out some pictures he took.

So, are all the Uncles and Aunties happy now? :p

He was such an angel yesterday's evening. I showed him my ulcers on my bottom lip.

Boiboi: Mummy, that's ulcer.

Mummy: Yeah and it's painful.

Boiboi: Mummy bite? (meaning that I must have bitten myself)

Mummy: Yeah.

Boiboi: Come let boiboi blow. (Standard cure for all types of pain hehehe...)

Mummy let boiboi blow on the ulcer. Suddenly, boiboi hold up his index finger.

Boiboi: WAIT! Let boiboi bring bonjela!! (I've only used Bonjela on him TWICE!)

Gosh he's sooo schweeet and compassionate!!!!

Wishing all of you a season filled with joy and warmth and all the happy things in life. Have a blessed Christmas!!!

Christmas At The Shopping Malls

UPDATED:
I've added in 2 videos of Thomas the Train thingy. Hop over and check them out.


We'll be celebrating tropical Christmas in Malaysia and there is not much atmosphere as compared to the whole stretch of Orchard Road, Singapore. The most we get close to that are the decorations and event held at shopping malls and hotels. I've no idea how come I've gone or passed by so many malls lately... not that I shopped much. Anyway, I'll let the photos do the talking.

This is Sungai Wang Plaza's concourse. They're having some Power Ranger theme kinda event and also the Tomy Toys Fair.



Bangsar Shopping Complex all decked in red and they have stalls lined up selling cookies, trinkets and chocolates.





Over in Suria KLCC, the theme this year is Golden Memories. It's a nice change in the decor of the tall Christmas tree from the usual purple baubles.





So far the decor in Midvalley Megamall was the most awesome (to me). There is even snow fall over at North Court for the promotion of Chipsmore Chocolate Chips Cookie with (errr I didn't really check the sample pack given to boiboi) white spots of something. How apt! Check the schedule when they "Let it Snow!!!" hahaha. It's pretty fun and amused to see the young and old got so excited over it. Children were seen stomping and grabbing the soap foam dropping from the machine, well including my boiboi. His first encouter of this was last Christmas over at Bangsar Shopping Complex. This time his initial reaction was like super blur not knowing why there are so many people staring up and suddenly specks of whitish stuff dropped onto him. There are some characters in their vibrant costumes and mime character giving away sample packs of the cookies.

Some cutie snowmen at the other side near MPH Bookshop.

The grand stage at Centre Court.

Wishing all of you a Blessed Christmas!

Dong Zhi 2005

I've a short post on Dong Zhi (Winter Solstice) festival last year.

Too many things on my mind now to write anything on this so I'm gonna just reproduce from Wikipedia...

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The Winter Solstice Festival (Chinese: 冬至; Pinyin: dōng zhì; "The Extreme of Winter") is one of the most important Jiéqìs celebrated by the Chinese and other East Asians on or around December 22 when sunshine is weakest and daylight shortest. It is the time when farmers and fishermen collect supplies and food in preparation for the coming winter.

The meaning behind this festival can be traced back to the Yin and Yang philosophy of balance and harmony. After this celebration there would be days with longer daylight hours and this symbolized positive energy flowing in. The philosophical significance of this is symbolized by the I Ching hexagram fù (復, "Returning").

In modern times, it is a time for the family to get together. One activity that occurs during these get togethers is the making and eating of Tong Yuen (湯圓, as pronounced in Cantonese; Mandarin Pinyin: Tāng Yuán) or balls of glutinuous rice, which symbolize reunion. Tong Yuen are made of glutinuous rice flour and sometimes brightly coloured. Every one in the family receives at least one large Tong Yuen and several small ones. The flour balls may be plain or stuffed. They are cooked in a sweet soup or savoury broth with both the ball and the soup/broth served in one bowl.

We are going back to my parents' home to celebrate with my boiboi and the rest of the family members. I can smell the soup, steamed chicken, mushrooms, fish, char yoke (deep fried meat braised with black fungus Hakka style) etc etc... and of course tong yuen and I saw crushed peanuts already wooohooooo tong yuen mua chi style!!!! Let's see if I can take any pics or not.

Happy Dong Zhi!!!

Review: Beard Papa at MidValley Megamall

I know, I know... loads of bloggers have blogged about the presence of Beard Papa in Midvalley Megamall, Kuala Lumpur even before they were opened. Well, I'm just like them, all excited about the opening after reading the long long queue other bloggers in the world have to endure just to taste these delicious cream puff. Hubby always have his fix of Beard Papa's cream puffs whenever he's in Shanghai. He didn't even know it's a very famous Japanese chain from US until I brought it up once. It was then he told me he had been devouring these delish cream puffs for some time. Duh!!!

We took boiboi over to Midvalley Megamall on Saturday to check out the Christmas decor and the supposedly snow fall (more on that later). It wasn't even noon yet but most of the parking entrances were closed because the car park was full!!! We snaked our way thru the jam and ended up having to park at the uncompleted Northpoint (new office block). Dangerous but we were ushered in by the Midvalley staff and it's FREE parking!!! I told hubby to take the KTM Komuter train there but as usual he won't listen until he went KNNCCB (errr abbreviated Chinese curse language) all the way round the building hehehe.

Okie back to the Beard Papa... I busied myself, sending my digital photos for printing next door and little did I know... hubby had bought the cream puffs and he finished one together with his partner in crime. All I saw when I'm done was hubby wiping off the traces of cream and icing sugar off my boiboi's mouth. Arghhh I asked him "how could you???" Kekekeke then hubby shoved the paper bag to me hahaha. Of course my darling won't dare to forget my portion right?

Whilst me and boiboi wrestle for the remaining cream puff, hubby gave the errr I think the franchise owner of Beard Papa Malaysia, his feedback. I overheard hubby commented that they were too much air pocket not filled with the custard cream... hmmm... next I heard him commented about the price... pretty pricey - RM3.30 a piece but the more you buy the cheaper it gets. The guy informed hubby they have no choice as they use the best ingredient to make the cream puffs... and I overheard he mentioned vanilla bean pods for the custard cream woohooo... no wonder the custard cream tasted soo good! Yes I can see the speckles of vanilla on the cream to confirm this.

In this picture, the mount of crispy choux pastry puffs waiting to be filled with vanilla custard cream. They only filled up the pastry when there is a purchase to ensure the puff won't get soggy. There is a metal contraption on the right to do this.



My boiboi obediently holding on to the cream puff whilst I took a quick shot.



And you know what, my little fart ate HALF, yes HALF of my cream puff!!! Sighhh... but never mind lah at least not so guilty hehehe... My smartass boiboi showed the owner his TWO thumbs up whilst his mouth is stuffed with the puff. Next thing I know he said "Lemme give you... some tissue". Aiyah... I thought he was going to give one more to boiboi because of his endorsement but I thought wrong. Sighhh...

And here is him sinking his teeth on my cream puff!



Surprising there wasn't any queue as those pictures I saw in Hawaii and Singapore. Maybe because not many people are aware of Beard Papa, or was it too expensive to indulge... cos the nearby Jusco supermarket is selling a similar sized one for around RM1.50. Half the price *chuckle*

Anyway, if you feel your saliva is already dripping, head on to LG007 Lower Ground Floor (below Centre Court), for your fix of the Beard Papa's cream puff.

Serious speaking, I'm a rather huge fan of cream puffs and had always get those little ones from Celicake in Desa Sri Hartamas but so far the bestest cream puffs I ever tasted were those from Riche Montana Bakery (KG1, Ground Floor) in South City Plaza, Seri Kembangan. Riche Montana Bakery is a Japanese bakery and they sell super looking and delicious breads, cakes and pastries. A rather obscure location selling such luxurious and expensive items but surprisingly they are well patronised. Apparently there is a small Japanese community in Seri Kembangan/Balakong since there are some Japanese factories around the area. I must thank my two friends whom recommended them to me.

Rosli Mi Rebus - Revisited

I kept going to Rosli Mi Rebus for lunch when I'm in the vicinity but I never had the opportunity to take photos of the delish Mee Rebus or Tauhu Goreng until recently. I've wrote about the details HERE.

These are the yummy stuff served at Pakcik Rosli's warung...





One can opt to have the mee rebus and tauhu goreng separately or campur (mixed). I personally preferred the mixed version as the mee rebus kuah (gravy) and kuah kacang (peanut gravy) really married well. The peanut gravy gave a thicker rendition and extra punch to the gravy. Maybe my next trip I can take a picture of the mee rebus campur tauhu.

Only For Fans Of Thomas The Train

I was passing by Sungai Wang Plaza (the grand old dame of Bukit Bintang - it's a very popular mall since the 70s) yesterday evening and I couldn't resist stopping by the concourse. All because of this...



I was so excited after sighting the towering layers and layers of blue train tracks!!! Hahaha this is no ordinary train tracks but those made by Tomy, the famous Japanese toy maker! This is the roal and rail edition. Just like the crowd you see in the picture above, I was like them too... stood mesmerised!!! Well, it's not that I used to play with such luxurious stuff when I was a kid... more like hubby started off the thang by carted boiboi, a box of Thomas the Train set from Hong Kong. My brother-in-law then gave boiboi another set on his birthday, followed by my aunt from Singapore, all not knowing we have one set at home. Luckily they've gotten different set for boiboi which means we have been creative, mixing and matching plus extending the tracks to unimaginable lengths and circles.

If your child loved train, do get him/her a set. You can start with 20 piece starter set which is priced around RM69.90 or there about. Yup, pricey but it's really worth it when you start to get the extended accessories. Your child can get creative in setting up the tracks in whatever way they fancy and yes these tracks are extremely children and parents friendly. Very easy to assemble - this I can guarantee cos my boiboi knew how to do this plus we have gone thru some frustration installing some alcheapo car racing tracks that took all our might and strength. In fact boiboi once asked us "Let's play Thomas the Train, let's build together" <- PRICELESS!!! Don't wait ok, bring your children over to Sungai Wang Plaza today and let them go wild! The Tomy Toys Fair is held at the concourse level, just in front of Coffee Bean from 19 - 26 December 2005. Check out up close... on different angles.







I chatted with one of the 5 guys who assembled the whole thing there. He said took them one night to design and set up. He recommended me to get a special edition set for my boiboi. Whoa I was blown by this set! The train actually let out steam on its err chimney or was it funnel? All you need to do is add some water on certain hole and voila... steam gushing out... hohoho I got it down on video but I need to make it smaller in size before I can upload here. And by the way, these tracks can be used for the Japanese bullet train sets!

UPDATED 22 December 2005: Here are the videos...





Disclaimer: I do not work for Tomy nor the distributor of Tomy toys Malaysia hehehe! This review cum plug is entirely based on my own experience and opinion. Good things are meant to be shared. *wink*

Lunch Partner's Wedding

This post is going to be unique. It's my first post on wedding (not mine) and the food served hahaha... ermmm sort of like a nice gift for one of my lunch partners - Mr Chairman and his wife since Mr Chairman is a foodie like me. Before I begin, I would like to congratulate Mr & Mrs Chairman on their marriage. Wishing both of them every happiness they build their dreams... their future... their new life together. Congratulations!!!

After the beautiful bride and handsome groom marched to their seat accompanied by Perhaps Love, a duet of John Denver and Placido Domingo (one of my fave of the late John Denver's song). Loved every minute of it. A well received (rather than those big bang show, yes, we have enough of Kitaro and Wong Fei Hung) small and low key food presentation by Renaissance Hotel, Kuala Lumpur where the wait staff marched in carrying our first course.

Hubby gave me the EYE, you know that kind of "look" when I started clicking away at the food on my own plate. I was short of sticking out my tongue at him if not for all the niceties of a wedding. See, the kind of danger stuff I had to go thru to blog about this. Those who have missed the wedding for whatever reasons, you guys owe me lots of TTs!!!

The first course, Renaissance 5 Happiness Combination Platter which have 5 different variety of small bites. I can't remember what I ate as I was enjoying the company of my lunch partners at the table. I think they have got some deep fried stuff, fish cakes thingy, prawn and melon salad and fried clams with snow peas. The pictures don't look appetising due to the low low lightings but the food did tasted good, surprisingly for a banquet.

Second course was the standard shark's fin soup which was way too salty. The third course was a tangy and delicious Deep Fried Boneless Chicken With Supreme Thai Sauce. Very nice that I ate the two pieces the server served.

Next we have a lovely basket made of I dunno what (too shy to look close up what it was hahaha and I was busy yakking away too) filled with Wok Fried Prawns Hunan Style. Shelled prawns, diced ginger slices and bell peppers make up this dish. The Hunan sauce kicked a punch for being slightly spicy. The fifth course was the Steamed Sultan Fish with Ginger Sauce. I took quite long to finish up my fish since this type of fish have very fine bones that I have to diligently picked every single one of them. Loved the ginger sauce though. Next up, a huge platter of Braised Mushroom Fungi Abalone with Dried Scallops and Vegetable was served which I think is nicely done up since most of us finished the fungi, brocolli and asparagus.

The standard fried rice dish of Wok Fried Rice with Chicken Anchovies and Salted Fish was served up quickly together with the fungi and vegetables. I usually skip the rice at most banquet saved for a couple of bites but this one I whacked all in my bowl. The salted fish lent a fantabulous flavour to the rice which hubby agreed. He's a fan of salted fish.

Honey Melon with Sago was served with a duet of dessert. Loved the chilled sago dessert and the spiral errr I'm not sure of the English equivalent, something made of glutinous rice like mocchi with red bean paste (the dark part of the spiral). The round deep fried balls have a filling of err was it red bean or lotus?? Miss Sweet 16, can remember or not? hehehe pardon me.

Aha... saw the longevity peach buns??? You must be asking why a wedding served such a dessert just like we did. Apparently it was Mr Chairman's uncle's (60th I think) birthday that day. So we sang him 2 rounds of birthday songs BUT he belted out 5 or was it 6 of his favourite songs for us. The most tear inducing one was the song he sang on his wedding day to his wife and every anniversary. Sooooo schweeettt of him!!! I wished I had married him a husband just like him.

Psssttt by the way, I think I did INDEED married someone like him hehehe...

Our table of lunch partners enjoyed the dinner, wine and of course the company plus the wonderful atmosphere at the banquet hall. Thank you, Mr & Mrs Chairman!!! Remember hor the message at the THIRD yum seng (toast) hahahah *wink*

Review: Kluang Station Kopitiam

Shhhhhhh... my boiboi is napping so I'm sneaking in an entry here.

I hope I got the name correctly but I know it's definitely Kluang Station. It's located on the Lower Ground Floor at the Oval court, 1 Utama new wing (opposite Bread Story). Seems like a rage now of high end kopitiams (coffee shop) mushrooming over in the Klang Valley right after the heels of Hong Kong style cafes.

We saw this place right after we got off the escalator, so we decided to give it a try after seeing the place is quite packed with patrons. We ordered butter and kaya toast for boiboi. Nothing to shout about the toast, pretty ordinary.

Our tea and yin yong (tea + coffee + condensed milk) is also so-so only. Hubby's nasi lemak came pretty quick. The rice is not lemak (rich) at all and lack in coconut milk taste. Sambal slightly on the sweet side, a wee bit too sweet I think. The only saving grace is the piece of fried chicken. Very crispy on the outside, juicy on the inside and tasty with the marinade. I can't remember how much it costed as hubby threw the receipt away right after.



My Hainanese Chicken Chop which the menu claimed to be authentic Hainanese fare is errrr not very Hainanese after all in my humble opinion. I've eaten a fair share of Hainanese Chicken Chops all over town and those prepared by my Hainanese aunties but they are nothing like the one I tasted in Kluang Station.

Check out the picture here... Do you see anything amissed??



Hohoho... did you spot anything that is not right of an authentic Hainanese Chicken Chop?? Yes? No??? Hahahaha... first it's served with fries!!!! Usually the potatoes are quartered, deep fried and cook together in the sauce with the onions and green peas! AND this sauce have canned baked beans in it, ahahaha.... oops I shouldn't have laughed... bad manners of mine :p Well maybe this is the Kluang Station's owner's family recipe... or maybe I'm kinda biased here since they proclaimed to be authentic Hainanese Chicken Chop, taste wise it's ok lah but really nothing outstanding.

Ohhh they employed those cute *wink wink* looking college students as waiters and you know what... the one whom served us can't even speak any Chinese be it Cantonese or Mandarin hahahaha talk about being in a kopitiam hehehe. Eh funny nowadays kopitiam is swamped with Myanmarese staff teehehehehe... Well at least this waiter is still a Chinese. Oh my... looks like it will take us a long time before visiting Kluang Station again judging from the amount of new makan (eating in Malay) places have opened in 1 Utama.

Please do not let this review from stopping you to try out Kluang Station. My taste might be different from yours ;-)

Kluang Station
LG337, Lower Ground of New Wing Oval
1 Utama Shopping Centre
Bandar UtamaPetaling Jaya
Tel: 03-77101039/012-3114881
Business Hours: Daily (10am-10pm)

UPDATED 12 Dec 2005:
Sorry, gotta applogise to some Hainan kias *tongue* err I was told they do serve baked beans in their chicken chops but usually they scoop straight out from the can to the plate.