Stir-fried Vermicelli with Belacan

I've eaten here at Marina Seahorse Bistro II many times but I believe that I've not tried the Stir-fried Vermicelli with Belacan. This is what it looks like.

Fine vermicelli was used to cook this dish. It was not too salty nor too spicy. I could smell and taste the mildly pungent belacan or prawn paste. And there were some mustard greens and beansprouts which provided some crunchiness to the noodles. The vermicelli was also stir-fried with strips of tender chicken and egg. It was not bad. This vermicelli noodle dish cost RM5.50. 

Tonight, I actually brought my friend who had not eaten here before. She had the Kampung Fried Rice and was superbly impressed. Lols. She also sang praises for the deep-fried chicken wings. ;p 

The Best Banana Fritters

During tea break the other day, my colleagues told me that the best banana fritters in Miri were from a stall at Kampung Wireless, Miri. The thing that amused me was that they all agreed with it unanimously! Lols.

Well, the Kampung Wireless settlement is located along Jalan Permaisuri, Miri.  I found the name very interesting. Apparently, this traditional Malay settlement was christened Kampung Wireless because of a telecommunications tower which was erected right in the middle of the village in the 1950's.

That afternoon, I had the privilege of trying these banana fritters as my colleagues bought them ...

 Banana fritters 

Look at the unique batter coating. My colleague called it "cucur pisang bulu" because of the puffed up pastry.

Cross section of a fritter

That day, the banana was not very sweet as it was not so ripe yet. Also, the banana was cut lengthwise before being deep-fried with batter. Well, as for the coating, I'd say that I liked it. It was light and crisp and not greasy. Hmn ... imagine a ripe juicy and whole piece of sweet-tasting banana coated with the batter .... I suppose that would result in THE BEST banana fritters ever. 

The stall also sold other goodies ... and the other day, my colleagues also bought cempedak fritters. 

Cempedak fritters

I liked the cempedak fritters too, except that they were greasier than the banana fritters. 

Well, well .... it was great fun to try those fritters .... I have no idea where the stall is located. Next time, I'd explore and go buy them on my own. As for whether they were the best in town, I suppose it's disputable and purely personal.

Dinner @ Passion Corner

My friend and I had dinner at Passion Corner the other day. It is located at Jalan Permaisuri. And we both liked the food there! 

A pot of green tea for the two of us, RM6.00

Free refills of boiling water available if one pot wasn't enough

A young lady came and took our order. My friend had lots of questions about the food, and the young lady very patiently clarified her questions. In the end, she decided to order a smoked duck set meal (RM12.00), which she liked and enjoyed very much. 

On the other hand, I had the Kimchi Pork Set meal. 

Kimchi Pork Set Meal, RM12.00

Hmn .... as you can see ... in the set meal, there was a bowl of rice and the kimchi and pork stir-fry, kelp, coleslaw, a soup and a pudding.

Kimchi Pork

Piquant, tangy and bright red in colour but not spicy. Very thin pork belly slices which melted in the mouth were used to stir-fry the dish. I found it to be very appetising. If you like kimchi, you will definitely enjoy this dish. Made me want to replicate this at home ....... ;p

Seasoned kelp

I liked the crunchy kelp, seasoned in a tangy soy sauce together with some garlic and fragrant sesame oil. Yums. 

Coleslaw

The cabbage and carrot shreds were crunchy, tangy and served chilled. It was rather refreshing.

Seaweed soup

The clear soup had seaweed and tofu dices in there, and was not salty. However, it was served lukewarm. Hmn ... if only it had been hotter, it would have been more enjoyable.

Pudding ... what a cutesy bear

The last item on the set meal was a strawberry pudding ... which provided a sweet end to the meal. 

Besides the set meal, my friend and I also shared the following ... 

 Stir-fried crinkly mustard greens in garlic, RM8.00

We both enjoyed the crunchy vegetables which were stir-fried to order

Crispy Salted Chicken, RM7.00

The chicken bites were crispy on the outside. My friend liked it but she thought the chicken was slightly salty. I did not think it was that salty, but I thought batter tasted a bit grainy or sandy.

Overall, I enjoyed the food here lots. It had a homemade feel to it. I'l be back soon!!

Green Tortoise Kueh

"Help me reply my sms," my friend said. She was driving. She dictated while I typed : Reserve 5. Will pick up later.

What? What? Pick up what? I asked my friend. "Ang Ku," she replied. "From Yen Fah."

Yen Fah? That's the video shop. I asked, confused. They sold DVDs and not Ang Kus.

Well, indeed it was the video shop at Pelita Commercial Centre. And they sold Ang Ku Kueh sometimes. Someone made and left the kuehs there to sell, apparently. My friend had discovered it by chance. She had bought it twice and served it at 2 functions, and everyone loved them.

Today, we bought 6 packets. There were 10 mini green coloured Ku Kuehs in each plastic package. I opened up a packet and caught a very fragrant whiff of the pandan flavour. Mmmmmm ... they sure smelled fresh and yums ....

A pack of 10 sells for RM6.00

Then I picked up one piece of Ku. It was soft, yet firm. Then I bit into it and found the skin to be of the right texture - chewy. It was also packed with green bean paste. I loved it as it was not too sweet.

 Yums ....

I finished one Ku in 2 bites and reached for another piece .... geez ... it was certainly addictive. These had to be one of the best Ku Kuehs I'd ever eaten!

For the uninitiated, Ang Ku Kueh is a traditional Chinese kueh or pastry. The skin is made of glutinous rice flour and the filling is usually green bean paste. Nowadays, yam paste and lotus paste are sometimes used for variety. Then, the pastry is moulded into an oval to resemble a tortoise shell. Hence it is called the "Ku" which means Tortoise.

Traditionally, the pastry skin is red in colour, and the Hokkien word for red is "Ang". Nowadays, people do away with the artificial red colouring and opt for natural colours from pounded pandan or screwpine leaves.

Second Aunt's homemade and delicious green-coloured pandan-flavoured Ku

Others got even more creative, and came up with grey, orange, and purple pastry skin. The grey colour was the result of adding some black sesame paste into the pastry. Meanwhile, the orange colour came from the use of mashed orange sweet potatoes, while purple pastries had yam or purple sweet potatoes added into them.

A purple version

Nonetheless, red-coloured skin is still preferred for important Chinese occasions when the Ku is served. Red is after all an auspicious colour for the Chinese. One occasion would be the Full Moon celebration when a newborn baby celebrates his or her first month. During this time, the Ang Ku Kueh would normally be distributed to friends and relatives.

Berry's Full Moon Set from Kedai Ayamas
Unfortunately, the Ku pastries were not moulded

Berry's Full Moon celebration Ang Ku Kueh 

The Ku kueh is best eaten fresh, but if you have got some leftovers in the fridge, you can try pan-fry them with a drop of cooking oil. Sizzle the pastry till it gets browned and crispy ... and enjoy a different texture and flavour altogether!

Rice Vermicelli For Breakfast

Something light for breakfast would be rice vermicelli  at 88 Cafe, Pelita Commercial Centre.

Breakfast

The rice vermicelli was mildly flavoured and non-greasy. It was served with blanched pig liver, fishballs, stuffed tofu, stuffed chilli, stuffed bitter gourd, minced pork and slivers of homemade charsiew. I enjoyed the noodles with lots of ground chilli sauce. 

Green Tea @ Starbucks

We had 3 hours of free time during lunch break ... so we went to Starbucks for a drink. I indulged myself with a tall glass of Iced Green Tea Latte, while the rest had Espresso Frappucino.

I enjoyed the latte very much as it was thick and sweet and milky and very refreshing.

Tall Iced Green Tea Latte, RM14.85

Two days later, I met up with another friend at Starbucks again, and this time I had the Frappucino version, i.e. blended. 

Tall Green Tea Frappucino With Whipped Cream, RM14.85

Hmn ... Of the two, I think the iced version was more refreshing as it felt "lighter" compared to the blended version which was heavy with cream.  

Too bad that the drink was very pricey ..... and filling .... and fattening ... else I'd have it all the time! ;))

AND THIS CAKE WAS JUST SOOOOOOO GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD! 

Banana Peanut Butter Chocolate Cake, RM10.90 per slice

I loved the combination of peanut butter (and cheese I think!), thin and sweet banana slivers, moist chocolate cake, mocha drizzle and chocolate powder. Simply divine & TO DIE FOR!!

There were just lots of people at this very small outlet .... it was distracting and rather difficult to talk .... but I loved the drinks and the cake nonetheless.

Mamee Express Cup Noodles

I redeemed myself a Mamee cup noodle from somewhere .... and had it for dinner the other night. Such unhealthy practice ... but since I was in a foul mood, I did not care.

 Mamee Express Curry Cup Noodles

Emptied the sachet of curry flavouring 

Added hot water and stood the noodles for 3 minutes 

Ready to eat 

Tired and unhappy ;((

Marina's Salisbury Steak Burger

With the recent  ban of Ayamas products from the supermarkets, the freezers were rather empty. I was actually shopping for frozen burger patties, and there were not many choices ... and then I stumbled upon Marina's Salisbury Steak Beef Burger. 4 patties were priced at RM11.70 here. Expensive, eh? I could have a McDonald's Big Mac McValue Meal for much less than that!!

 The packaging

However, since I was rather keen to try it, I bought it anyway. Back home, I opened the package, and found 4 giant beef patties inside. Giant as each patty was about 14.5 cm in diametre and about 1 cm thick. Well, well, well ... this beef patties looked like they had substance!

A giant patty

Instructions said to pan-fry, grill or barbecue them straight from the freezer for 2 minutes on each side. I had mine thawed first. I also did not time myself, but I pan-fried each side till browned and then slabbed half a slice of cheddar cheese on top and waited for it to melt ....

Waiting for the cheese to melt

And then I served it on my favourite toasted Massimo Wheat Germ sandwich bread ... with lots of crunchy cucumbers and tangy tomato slices. I squeezed some chilli sauce on top as well. The large beef patty filled up the whole slice of bread ...

Salisbury steak beef burger with melted cheese

After taking a bite .... 

I suppose when you pay premium prices, you get premium products. I loved the beef patty. It was thick and juicy, and packed with the flavour of good quality beef. It was not salty and thus retained its natural flavour. Not bad at all, and able to give McDonald's a run for its money!

I'm glad I bought this product, and am already thinking of ways to jazz up my burger next time. I've got relishes, mustard, mayo, bbq sauce, onions, pickles, lettuces in mind ................................ it would surely taste even more awesome, wouldn't it? ;p

Briyani For Lunch

I had lunch with my colleague at Al-Asna, formerly known as Fairuz. We went to the outlet located at Morsjaya. This restaurant has got a strong following for its briyani and its roti canai. Here is the website.

Today, I ate ...

Briyani with egg, honeyed chicken & pickled cucumbers

The honeyed chicken or ayam madu is mighty popular. The chicken was deep-fried and then coated with a sweet and spicy sauce. This time around, I found the chicken to be fried till very tough, and the sauce to be overly sweet. The egg was yums, though. So was the pickles. Nonetheless, I still enjoyed the play of spices in the rice in which I drenched with a bit of curry gravy.  

Hamper

Hey, I got myself a mighty large hamper from a lucky draw during the annual dinner. It's been a long, long time since I'd gotten anything. Hmn ... so this time ... my lucky star must had been shinning ... lols ...

The hamper ...

Hmn ... it was filled with confectionery .... and lots too! Now, let's see ....
1) Julie's Cocoro Chocolate-filled wafer - great cause I did not like the Vanilla-filled ones ;p
2) Julie's Strawberry Love Letters
3) Julie's Rich Tea Oat Biscuit. 14 convi-packs inside! So many!
4) Julie's Oat 25 Ten Grains. Also 14 convi-packs inside!
5) 2 packets of Munchy's Lexus Choco Coated Cream Biscuits
6) 2 packets of Munchy's Cream Crackers
7) A tin of Munchy's Top Mix
8) A can of lychee
9) A bottle of Sarsi

Hmn ... if I were to eat all these, it would probably take me half a year to finish ... so .......... I gave away near all to my colleagues and friends .... it is blessed to bless others. ;p

Annual Staff Dinner 2012

The staff had their annual dinner at Imperial Palace Hotel. We had our annual there too last year, and all of us agreed that the food was not up to par the last time. So we were not expecting much this time around.

For starters, we were served ...

Starters :

I had some assorted vegetables with thousand island dressing, a fruit salad, and a spicy Thai beef salad. Of the three, I liked the zesty Thai salad, which coupled the spicy and the sour and a full-flavoured cured beef - tasted like salami to me. The Pooh air freshener was a door gift. It's so cute, eh?

The mains :
Rice was served with the dishes shown above, and it was good that they refilled the food so that everyone could have their fill. Of all the dishes above, I liked the fish the most - baked fish fillet with leek sauce. I was not sure what fish was used, but the flesh was rather firm. The sauce was creamy and I think it would be nice to eat the fish with pasta. Yums. I liked the broccoli with assorted mushrooms too .. with crisp broccoli and soft and slippery mushrooms and a light sauce. Many of my colleagues enjoyed the seafood tofu. The crust was crispy while the inside was soft and tasty. The tofu was served with a tangy mayonnaise.

Cakes
The strawberry mousse cake was alright, but I did not really like the brown coloured cake which tasted of almonds .... 

I enjoyed the tart though the crust was so darn thick ...

A fruit cocktail to end the dinner ... 

Guess there was so improvement since last year!

Lunch @ Ipoh Town Kopitiam

My colleague and I had lunch at Ipoh Town Kopitiam today. We both love the white coffee, which was thick and satisfying.

Yums white coffee, RM2.40

We also shared the kaya & butter toast. The crisp brown bread was generously buttered, and the sweet and rich kaya made the toast a wonderful treat, no matter what time of the day.

Kaya & butter toast, RM2.40

I believe this is the first time I tried the Nasi Lemak Special.

Nasi Lemak Special, RM6.80

Hmn ... I did not taste much of coconut fragrance in the rice, which I also found to be a tad soggy. The sambal was tangy but quite tasty nonetheless. Besides the usual condiments such as deep-fried peanuts, deep-fried anchovies, cucumbers, and half a boiled egg, the nasi lemak was served with a chunk of chicken rendang. The thigh meat was rather tender, and fully infused with spices. I quite enjoyed the chicken, in fact. 

My colleague had the dry curry mee which she found to be very spicy. As a result, she had only consumed a quarter of the amount! Dry curry mee was RM6.30. She also had to order a glass of warm drinking water to put out that burning sensation in the mouth. And drinking water was RM0.80 per glass. 

All food and beverage were subjected to 10% of service charge. And so we paid a total of RM23.20 for the meal.

Veggies & Curry

Gawd, it was near 1 p.m. and I had nothing to eat. I was starving and getting really cranky. So in the end, I went to Star. I had not been there for quite long a time, and the cafe was really packed with people eating and taking away food. I had ....

Three types of greens on rice : Baby kailan, French beans & angled beans, RM3.50

The baby kailan was stir-fried in oyster sauce, the French beans stir-fried with anchovies and the angled beans stir-fried with dried shrimps. But they all taste the same to me.

 Chicken curry, RM5.00

I mistook this for chicken stew, because of its pale colour. The curry was really mild and salty. Not so nice. Hmn .... I must remind myself not to buy this next time. 

I'm Lovin' It : Filet-O-Fish

I think McValue meals are really good value for the money. It's available from 12 - 3 p.m. and 6 - 9 p.m. So those are the times when the fast food outlet is the most crowded.

Hmn ... I normally have the Big Mac. But tonight, I somehow felt like having the Filet-O-Fish. A medium McValue meal costs RM7.50.

The carton

The burger

Just a slice of cheese, a deep-fried fish filet, and tartare sauce

A look at the beneath the bun

For a limited time, the large fries comes with a Smoky BBQ flavouring sachet ... 

Smoky BBQ flavouring

The orange-coloured flavouring was kinda yum ... a hint of bbq flavour which was on the sweet side ... made the French fries tastier.

French fries ... with black pepper on one side and smoky bbq flavour on the other side ... oops ... bet you can't see the orange-coloured powder ... 

Really worth the money, but also makes me feel guilty as hell. I had better go exercise tomorrow!

Fuss Free Lunch

Hmn .... I cooked when I had the mood. Today, well, I actually did not feel like cooking. I had not planned to cook as I wanted only to have bread for lunch.

I stood in front of the fridge, opened it and looked inside.  Then all of the sudden, I changed my mind as I wanted to use up my leftover stuff in the fridge - rice and fishballs and minced meat and eggs. So I thought I'd prepare a meal. A fuss-free meal with minimal ingredients.

I stir-fried the mustard greens with the fishballs, stir-fried the minced meat with soy and sugar and spring onions, and fried the egg. Then I heated up the rice in the microwave oven.

And there ..... I had a homecooked lunch at almost an instant. ;) And it was so easy that it took me only 20 minutes.