Special Chinese Banquet @ The Ritz-Carlton, Kuala Lumpur

Deluxe Hot & Cold Combination

The Fried Yam Balls are nice. Nothing to shout about the baby octopus. While the fish cake used in the stir-fried celery was quite fishy.

Four Treasure Soup

Well received by all. The four treasures refer to fish maw, dried scallops, black fungus and 'Shark's fin'.

Traditional Crispy Roasted Chicken

Another above average dish. Well marinated chicken roasted perfectly with crispy skin and tender meat.

Deep-fried Prawn With Cereal Hong Kong Style

By far the best dish of the day. We were impressed and glad as the prawns were unshelled and the cereal added on top were a surprising and pleasant twist.

Steamed Grouper With Superior Soy Sauce

The fish was quite huge and easily over 1kg. Only complaint was the over salty sauce.

Braised Broccoli with Bean curd Skin And Chinese Black Mushroom

By then we were quite full already. Nevertheless, an acceptable dish.

Braised Noodles With Assorted Seafood

Surprisingly tasty noodles as a thin version noodles were utilized. The egg gravy was also quite nice.

Mango Cream With Water Chestnut and Pomelo

Desserts were also well accepted. This was the first time we tried mango cream with water chestnut and pomelo. The contrast between crunchy water chestnut and slightly sour pomelo complimented each other perfectly.

Asian Crystal Pancake With Custard Filling

Quite a nice dessert if the crystal skin could be thinner. 'Thinner skin and tastier fillings' please.

5-star Hotel Banquet Decor

Address:
The Ritz-Carlton, Kuala Lumpur
168, Jalan Imbi,
55100 Kuala Lumpur.
Tel : (603) 2142 8000
Fax : (603) 2143 8080

Chinese New Year Goodies & Snacks @ Mom's Place Ipoh

Bak Kwa aka Rou Gan or Dried Salty-Sweet Dried Meat

Time for a little spring cleaning exercise. I would like to share some photos about my favorite Chinese New Year (CNY) goodies and snacks. My ultimate CNY indulgence is Bak Kwa aka Rou Gan, which is actually Chinese salty-sweet dried meat product. It is normally made from pork in the form of flat thin sheets. Bakkwa is believed to have originated from a meat preservation and preparation technique used in ancient China.

Close-Up of Chinese New Year Delicacy: Bak Kwa

Look at the close-up photos above, the thin sheet of meat is very well marinated, dried and flame grilled to perfection. I can easily consume the whole packet that weigh 1KG. The best part is those slightly burned bits. Although Bak Kwa is available year round, sales skyrocket 2-3 weeks before CNY.

Mandatory Mandarin Orange

Cookies Galore

New Sensation: Seaweed Crackers

I would like to introduce the new crowd favorite for 2008 CNY snacks: Seaweed crackers. It is actually made from Wanton skins wrapped with seaweed and deep fried. Absolutely tasty snacks.

Crispy Fried Chinese Arrowhead

My other all time favourite is the crispy fried Chinese Arrowhead snacks. The slight bitterness coupled with natural sweetness of Chinese Arrowhead lifted this snacks to another level.

Pineapple Tart

Another must have is pineapple tart. This yummy little goody has gained popularity especially with its sweet and sour pineapple fillings.



Chinese New Year is a time for gifts and sharing. Normally we will purchase hampers that contains Bird's nest soup, Chicken essence, honey, Ginseng, dried scallops etc for parents and relatives. Eu Yan Sang is my preferred shop.

Chinese New Year Steamboat @ Mom's Place, Ipoh

Absolutely Delicious Homemade Steamboat

A short post about Chinese New Year Steamboat. I'll let the pictures do the talking instead. Mom prepared some really delicious appetizers such as fried chicken strips and crispy Taufoo with fish paste. Appetizers are really important due to the customary cooking time of 10mins ++ for steamboat. I practically drool just by looking at the pictures below. Absolutely marvelous fried chicken with well marinated meat and crispy outer layer.

Homemade Fried Chicken Strips

Homemade Yong Taufoo

Key ingredients of our homemade steamboat include fish balls, tonnes of vegetables, prawns, crabs, scallops, squids, noodles and homemade chili dips.

Jumbo Prawns

Special Noodles Imported from China & Chili Paste

Mandatory Vegetables

First of all, sweet corn, fish balls and Chinese cabbage are cooked first to add extra flavor to the soup base. Again, the soup base is meticulously cooked for more than 3 hours by my mom.

The Patient Wait

Homemade Fish Balls, Chinese Cabbage & Sweet Corn

After the first round of eating, we are free to put in whatever we desire into the steaming pot of broth. One can easily over-indulged when eating steamboat. Thus, beware or you will need to workout extra hard later.

Time to Feast

Medan Ikan Bakar @ Muara Sg. Duyong, Melaka

Medan Ikan Bakar Muara Sungai Duyong

Ikan Bakar or grill fish is very famous in Melaka mainly due to its proximity to the Straits of Melaka where fresh seafood is in abundant supply. One of the famous Ikan Bakar restaurant I frequently visits is Medan Ikan Bakar at Muara Sungai Duyong.

Right Beside the Sea
























Simple Decor

This restaurant is owned and run by Malay boasting super fresh seafood with simple decor. More than 20 different types of seafood are readily available ranging from fish, squid, cockles, crabs, prawns etc.

Fresh fish, crabs and prawns

The ordering process is very simple, you only need to select the types of seafood and cooking method. The waiters will weigh the selected seafood in front of you and confirm the order and pricing on the spot.
There are more than 10 cookings method on offer including the classic charcoal grill, marinated grill, sweet sour, oyster sauce stir-fry, chili paste stir-fry etc.
























Cockles & Various Shell Fish

The specialty here is the Nasi Lemak or rice cooked with coconut milk and served with chili paste. Instead of serving white rice, packets of nasi lemak will be served. Each packet only cost a paltry 60 cents and one can easily consume 3 packets or more.

Nasi Lemak

Nasi Lemak with Fried Fish

We ordered fried kampong fish, sweet and sour fish, fried calamari, chili prawns, and grilled crabs. All dishes are very tasty and fresh.

Fried Fish

Fried Calamari

Sweet & Sour Fish

The special sauce which is made from Malay sweet soy sauce, green chili paste and fresh shallots topped with calamansi lime juice is heavenly.

Special Sauce

Do expect a healthy crowd especially on weekends as the seafood on offer is highly affordable. Our seafood feast that fed 10 person below only cost RM150+ inclusive of drinks (5 fresh coconuts and softdrinks).

Affordable Seafood Feast

Additional Review:
1. TansBeefNoodle

Direction: (Taken from TansBeefNoodle)
How to get there: Drive into Jalan Bandar Hilir, turn left into Jln Bukit Senjuang, turn a sharp right (just before the roundabout) into Lorong Bukit Senjuang (goodness don’t drive up into St. John Fort), turn left into Jln Hujung Pasir (past Portuguese settlement), Jln Padang Temu, past Tan Kim Hock hotel, Newton Food Center (I find the food there ok), into Pasir Ujong, past a major cross junction, after awhile you will reach a concrete bridge – that is Sg Duyung flowing underneath it – slow down and turn right immediately just after the bridge, there is a signboard telling you of Suana Sungei Duyung.

Everyday Low fares, The Never-Seen Before ASEAN sales @ Malaysia Airlines

Forget about 0 star low cost carrier, everyone jostling to board the aircraft, erratic schedule and queuing up 1 hour before boarding.

Malaysia Airlines, MAS is introducing the never seen before everyday low fares ASEAN sales. 1,000,000 free seats up for grabs to Hong Kong, Bangkok, Hanoi, Bali, Phuket and even Guangzhou China and more.

According to MAS CEO Idris Jala, Malaysia Airlines is the world's first full-service airlines (full service carrier) to give such substantial concessions. Malaysia Airlines understand that the world economy has started to slow down, causing passengers to reduce the demand for aviation, in order to stimulate demand, Malaysia Airlines launched a supporting such a concession.

Hurry and book your dream vacation now! Booking period starts from 21st May to 3rd June for traveling dates between 1st July and 14th December 2008.

Click here to access booking page!

Guang Xi Dinner @ Mom's Place, Ipoh

Lotus Roots, Dried Scallops & Corn Soup

Nothing beats home-cooked food, not even abalone and shark's fin soup from top restaurant. This post is dedicated to my mom who is the best cook I've known. She specialized in 'Guang Xi', Cantonese and 'Hokkien' dishes. First up is the delicious and nutritious lotus roots, dried scallops and corn soup. The natural sweetness of lotus roots is further enhanced by the addition of red dates.

Steamed Sultan Fish

Next is the nutritious steamed Sultan fish. My mom's version is quite different as she uses a special sauce that includes fried shallots, sesame seed oil, chili, coriander, spring onions and parsley.

'Kou Rou' Braised Pork With Yam

'Kou Rou' or braised pork with yam is a traditional 'Guang Xi' dish where pork is first marinated overnight using Chinese 5 spice powder and braised together with Yam until tender and served on a bed of lettuce.

Stir-fried Asparagus With Prawn

Chinese & Malay fusion dish of stir-fried asparagus with Prawns. The Malay element is represented by the addition of 'Sambal Belacan' while the red bell peppers adds color and complemented the crunchy asparagus perfectly.

Lychee Ice

A simple dessert of 'Lychee' ice ends a great meal. Only available from mom's place in Ipoh though.

Purple Cane Tea Restaurant @ The Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall, Kuala Lumpur

Inside Purple Cane Tea Restaurant

Purple Cane Tea Restaurant pioneered tea cuisine in Malaysia. Their team of creative chefs have created over 50 varieties of gourmet by pairing tea with food. Whenever I have over-indulged in rich, spicy and fried stuffs, Purple cane will come to the rescue.

Chinese Herbal Soup

First and foremost, a bowl of steamed Chinese Herbal soup will refresh all my senses and taste buds. With just the right amount of traditional herbs and lightly salted, this soup taste heavenly.

Sweet & Sour Garoupa Fish with Tea

Next up, is the sweet and sour Garoupa Fish infused with Tea. The fish fillet is fresh and the vegetable remain crunchy. We also ordered stir-fried Kailan and steamed tau foo. Both dishes also contained tea extract or tea leaf.

Stir-fried Kailan with Tea

Steamed Tau foo with Minced Meat & Tea leaf topping

Even the simple bowl of rice is also cooked with tea leaf. Simply yummy and healthy!

Rice Infused with Tea Leaf

For drinks, we ordered iced tea with honey and a cup of Pu-er tea. Have a look at the special mug that contains a special filter to store all the remnants of tea leaves.

Refreshing Chinese Iced Tea With Honey

A Big Cuppa Chinese Pu-Er Tea

Special Tea Mug with filter

Related Posts:
1. kuanfoodfetish
2. elenietan
3. food.malaysiamostwanted.com
4. masak-masak

Address:

Blog Mistakenly Removed by Blogger

Dear Readers,

My apologies for the unavailability of my blog for the past 12 days. Apparently, Blogger has mistakenly labeled my blog as a spam blog and removed it without any prior warning or notice. I was utterly disappointed and angry. Where is my blog? I can't find it anywhere on the web.

After frantically searching the web, I discovered that I was not alone and numerous folks faced the same problems too. Blogger robots will automatically scan and remove any suspicious blog. I quickly submit my blog again to report this false positive and pray that my blog will be re-instated.

Thankfully 4 days after submission to Blogger team, I received the following email:

Hello,

Your blog has been reviewed, verified, and cleared for regular use so that it will no longer appear as potential spam. If you sign out of Blogger and sign back in again, you should be able to post as normal. Thanks for your patience, and we apologize for any inconvenience this has caused.

Sincerely,
The Blogger Team

Thank God for reviving my precious Blog. From now on, I'll backup each and every post to avoid the potential pain of loosing all my posts.