Bintawa Dumplings

Well, the dumpling or bak chang festival is over. But yesterday, my cousin J came over bearing me her favourite dumplings. We call them "Bintawa Dumplings" as they were made by a lady in Bintawa. Cousin J often ordered them and had them delivered to her office. Each dumpling cost RM3.20.

This year, she remembered me when she placed her order .... and was so nice to send them over to my house. Bless her generous soul!

Now, the dumplings are rather small in size, and wrapped in a pandan leaf.

A dumpling in my Tupperware container .... 

 Here's what it looked like inside .... 

 Another angle .... 

This dumpling isn't like the ones my family make at home - which are very heavily spiced. This one is more subtle in flavour .....

The rice is soft but not mushy, and it bound the whole dumpling together so that they do not disintegrate. The filling contains bits of meat - they are soy-braised and tasted sweet. There's also smooth and sweet yam paste inside there .... and I think that is about it. The filling is not really a lot, but then it does not feel very little either ..... so I would say that it's quite reasonable in amount.

This is not bad a dumpling at all. :))

Mee Suah @ Ah Yen Cafe

I did not have much time for lunch ... so I dropped by Ah Yen Cafe for a quickie. Not knowing what to eat .... and there not being many choices of things to eat, I ordered a Mee Suah in Chicken Soup.

Mee Suah in Chicken Soup, RM6.00; iced coffee, RM2.00

Hmn .... this bowl of mee suah was reasonable in portion. There were lots of wheat vermicelli in the bowl, to which I only ate about one third. Ingredients wise, there were a piece of chicken drumstick, a piece of mushroom, and a poached egg. Of the three items, my favourite was the egg ..... the yolk, though not runny, was not overcooked. Yum. The chicken and mushroom ... hmn ... nothing great.

The soup was not hot enough ... I liked my soup to be tongue-burning hot. This one could have been heated up longer. The flavour was very bland, and the flavour of the rice wine did not come through. I poured the whole saucer of soy sauce into my broth .... and it tasted a wee bit better after that. On the bright side, I knew the soup wasn't overloaded with msg, for it did not taste artificial. It just did not taste wholesome and hearty enough.

I liked the iced coffee though ... it had a distinctive flavour, which I think came from a good blend of coffee and good quality condense milk. A bit sweet though, so I did not dare to finish drinking it.

Ah Yen Cafe is located at Soho, Jalan Wan Alwi.

Root Canal Treatment

Are you scared of dentists? I'm not particularly scared of them. But when I sat outside the consultation room and as I listened to the dentist's drills ... I got nervous despite my calm and cool demeanour. And while lying on the dental chair .... I found that my hands were clasped real tight .... I was hardly at ease.

* * * * *

At the end of April, a premolar tooth cracked and I panicked. I was scared of losing my tooth, you see. How could I face the world if I had a gap in between my pearly whites. Well, I was probably over-thinking or over-worrying or perhaps thinking of the worst scenario that I could be facing. Whatever it was, it wasn't a pleasant feeling.

Since the crack happened on a Saturday, I had to wait till Monday to go to a dentist which was recommended by a friend. This particular dentist which I visited checked my tooth and pressed my gums above my tooth. Indeed there was tenderness and even a bit of swelling at the gum. A tiny lump at the gum indicated bacteria infection. So Mr. Dentist gave me two options. One - extract the tooth and use dentures. NO WAY! I thought only old people use dentures!!! Option one was definitely out. Two - perform a root canal treatment, where the bacteria will be rid of before a filling is place. Ok. I choose to do the root canal treatment.

But wait a minute, Mr. Dentist did not do root canal treatment because he did not have an X-ray machine. So, we prescribed me some antibiotics for the bacteria infection and recommended me to go to his friend's clinic. A normal root canal treatment would cost about RM750 - RM1000, he said. He charged me RM50.00 for consultation and antibiotics. Back home, I did not even take the antibiotics. Duh.

* * * * * 

I asked around for recommendations of dentists, and friends did suggest to me some names. In the end, I decided to go to CK Goh Dental Surgery - a dental surgery clinic run by a husband and wife team. Appointments were very difficult to make .... and I could only secure an appointment at mid-May. Unfortunately, it coincided with Grandma's funeral .... so I rescheduled the appointment to next available slot, which was early June. 

Dr. Wong - the wife - did my consultation and she too confirmed that I had to do the root canal treatment. She had a gentle demeanor which put me completely at ease ... and I knew that I was in good hands. My treatment had to be scheduled for a week later. 

* * * * * 

Dr. Wong talked me through each step so that I knew what was happening. First she drilled 2 holes on my tooth - because premolars had 2 nerves. She had to find the nerves. Apparently, only one nerve was dead - because I did not feel any pain there when she cleaned out the canal. The other nerve was still alive - and there I felt pain whenever she scrapped and cleaned the canal. It was a bearable kind of discomfort, though. Then an X-ray was taken .... and then more scrapping before a temporary filling was placed to cover the canals. 

Dr. Wong explained to me that I would have the discomfort for at least 2 days, and that a little bit of swelling was normal.

That night, I went to bed with throbbing pain in my teeth and gum. But when I woke up the next morning, there was no more pain ... and my gum did not swell. Over the next few days, the tenderness I felt on my right cheek, and my little lump went away .... and I was over the top.

Actually, I've had the tenderness on my cheek since last year! I remember distinctly when because it was not long after I had gotten a filling done at the Polyclinic. So, I have had the tenderness for over a year! And I never even knew why! And I never even bothered to get it checked. I hadn't suspected that it came from my bacteria infested nerves in my gum ...... Had my tooth not cracked, I would not have even gotten it treated! 

* * * * *

The following week, I went back to Dr. Wong - and she removed my temporary filling and replaced it with a permanent one, and I was good to go. I also got her to check my other teeth .... and they were all fine. :))

This treatment set me back by RM440.00 - which was very reasonable indeed. I'd just found a myself a reliable dentist. I would really recommend her should you need any dental assistance. :))

Curry Hainan Chicken Rice @ Yong Kwang Cafe Kenyalang Park Kuching

Yong Kwang Cafe at Kenyalang Park Commercial Centre is a very old establishment. They are very famous for their steams baos and sio bees, which are unfortunately not my favourite. Their kolo mee is also a following for the regulars. There is a kueh stall outside the coffee shop with a good selection of kueh in the morning. And there are also stalls selling belacan beehoon and rojak, chicken rice, and economic rice.

From the economic rice stall that day, I ordered a Curry Hainan Chicken Rice.

Curry Hainan Chicken Rice, RM5.00

Iced coffee, RM2.00

It comprised of steamed chicken on savoury rice, and served with a bowl of clear soup, another bowl of curry gravy, and of course, the chilli dip. Inside the curry were pieces of dried bean curd and some soggy-looking long beans.

I found the rice and the chicken to be alright when eaten with the chilli condiment. The soup was hot, and it was pleasant to drink. But I did not like the curry at all. The taste was not to my palate, for I hated the taste of overcooked long beans in my curry.

The coffee was alright, I suppose .... only too sweet that it made me feel guilty drinking.

Here at Yong Kwang Cafe, there's another stall selling chicken rice, roasted meats, and curry rice .... next time, I'll try the curry rice here. :))

Craving For Curry Yong Tau Foo

My last bowl of Curry Yong Tau Foo at Foodbazaar food court at the Spring Shopping Mall was better than expected. What I liked about the yong tau foo here was not the selection of yong tau foo items. They were very limited, in fact. What I liked was the curry gravy - with thick consistency and a very well-balanced yet satisfying curry flavour.

So I found myself craving for that hot bowl of Curry Yong Tau Foo!

My bowl, RM7,80

I had a stuffed bitter gourd, a stuffed eggplant, a chunk of fishcake, a thick chunk of sausage, a piece of beancurd skin, and glass noodles. All the items were blanched before the hot curry gravy was ladled over the items, infusing them with that really good curry flavour. Too bad they did not have kangkong ..... I'd love to have the crunchy kangkong soaking up my curry gravy... Yums. Love it. Go try it. :))

Nasi Lemak in Kuching : Sukha

Nasi Lemak is a signature dish at Sukha at a fancy price of RM12.00. At that price, it's only right for me to have a bit of expectations. So when the plate was set before me, I relished in the visual appeal of the dish. Ok, at least it looked yummy, and my appetite was whetted.

Everything was neatly arranged .... so pretty :)) 

A closer look.
The nasi lemak was served on a banana leave, cut in a circular shape. The rice in the middle, and was encircled with all the condiments and the fried chicken with spices - Ayam Berempah.

Let's start with the rice - warm, soft and fluffy, fragrant and lemak. I did catch a whiff of that aroma of santan.

Sambal - I loved the red hue; the sambal is slightly moist, but not watery, sweet and savoury and piquant. Not spicy, but not bad at all.

Half a hard-boiled egg - which was cut really neatly!

3 slices of cucumbers, and generous servings of peanuts and deep-fried anchovies.

Fried chicken - a whole thigh of substantial size; very crispy, with spices - especially the coriander seeds - evident on the crust. Not bad, except that I'm not very much a fan of ayam berempah. :))

So do I prefer this or Spore Nasi Lemak at Coffee Talk? Hmn ..... this one's on the pricey side; so perhaps when I feel like having nasi lemak served fancily, I would come here. When I'm on a shoestring budget, I would go to Coffee Talk (even though the nasi lemak there isn't exactly cheap either). The best nasi lemak in my books is still from Summit Cafe in Miri ...... I'm salivating now thinking of the steaming hot rice and the ever so flavourful beef rendang. Sigh.

Sukha Kuching

My friend and I went to Sukha for lunch today. Sukha is at Brighton Square, Jalan Song. We loved the decor here .....

Red paper crane sat on a chopstick and stuck in a stationery holder filled with coffee beans ... 

What? Our table used to be a sewing machine? How creative! 

Fancy cafe filled by fancy people .... :)) 

We sat at a table at a corner, and was shown the menu. But orders had to be made at the cashier's.

 Passionfruit with Wild honey, RM8.00

What a small glass for RM8,00! What I loved was the passionfruit seeds in the drink - real ones and not those cordial types.

 Chicken Caesar Prata Wrap, RM12,00  and iced chocolate, RM11.00

The Chicken Caesar Prata Wrap was a recommended dish 

My friend had this, and I did not try it .... but she finished it so it had to be good. :))

 Iced chocolate, RM11 and nasi lemak, RM12.00 

Also a signature item here .... 

Churros, RM10.00

I think the churros were a bit over-fried ..... not soggy but did not taste that great either; they were dusted with cinnamon and served with chocolate dip

In the next post, I will be detailing the nasi lemak ..... 

Burger King @ Plaza Merdeka Kuching

I reached there before 12.30 p.m. ..... and there wasn't much of a queue with only one lady in front of me who was taking away some burger meals. I ordered my food ..... but waited some 5 minutes for them to prepare my tray. Looking at the way they went about behind the counter, I thought the crew could improve on their working ethics and efficiency so that they could speed up the serving of meals.

The seating was rather limited as well .... and there were more people coming to have their meals than they were tables readily available for their disposal. As I was sitting and having my meal, I sort of felt for those who were standing around waiting for vacant tables .... and it made me feel uncomfortable as well.

When this Burger King outlet opened about 2 months ago, it sure attracted a lot of people! The social media published lots of pictures and news of their overwhelming queues. Hence, I stayed away till now.

Now, I love Burger King in the past ..... and made it a point to eat it whenever I was in KL. These days, I felt that the quality had somewhat declined a lot ....... these days, among the fast food chains that I have tried, I felt that Wendy's actually served better quality burgers.

Anyway .....

 Whopper junior meal, RM12.30 

 The burger 

The mess inside .... 

The burger did not look substantial nor appetising .... but luckily, it retained that flame-grilled taste that I liked. The fries too were mere ordinary.

大舅母's Bak Chang

The Dragon Boat Festival came and went over the weekend. On the social media, I've seen lots of postings on bak chang or rice dumplings. And well, it compelled me to write a post as well.

Mom invariably makes rice dumplings every year. This year, in fact, she had already bought some ingredients in preparation to make bak chang - like the preserved mustard and the coriander seeds and the dried winter melon strips. But because Grandma had suddenly passed away last month, no bak chang should be made in the household this year. That's according to the undertaker.

My Third Aunt told a story of the time when my great grandmother passed away. Because of the incident, no dumplings should be made. But out of ignorance, Grandma decided to make kee chang - a meatless dumpling made of glutinous rice and alkaline water. What happened was that one corner of the triangular dumpling refused to cook, no matter how long they boiled the dumpling in water!

Although Mom did not make any dumplings this year, we received many gifts of dumplings from our relatives! So generous of them!

This is 大舅母's dumpling. She is a professional dumpling maker. Meaning that she sells dumplings for a living. According to Mom and my aunts, 大舅母's dumplings come in a perfect triangular shape. And they always praise the quality of the glutinous rice in the dumpling. 大舅母 is so skilled that the glutinous rice is soft yet Q, and doesn't stick to the leaf.

Sharp angles on all sides .... 

Peel off the leaf ... 

A perfect triangular dumpling that does not stick to the leaf

The meat, yam paste, and chestnut inside the dumpling ... 

大舅母sells her dumplings at the Siang Siang Tabuan Jaya kueh stalls I think.

Rain, Rain At Siniawan

I've been to Siniawan 4 times prior to this. Twice I went in the day, and twice at night. Somehow, on the nights that I had gone there, it seemed to be always raining. Read here and here. So I have never had the chance to dine al fresco at Siniawan. Sigh. On the days that I'd gone there, however, the weather was always good. Read here and here.

My cousin J asked whether we would like to go to Siniawan for dinner ..... so the whole car load of us went. On the way, it started to pour. Quite heavy, really. Darn. Fifth Aunt predicted that we would end up having dinner at Singapore Chicken Rice. But of course, we would not have it! We wanted to go to Siniawan.

So we persisted with the journey ... and was dropped off at one end of the old shops. It was an ingenious manouver by my cousin so we did not have to brave the rain. We walked one round before grabbing a table at Yong Tai Cafe. Then we proceeded to buy the stuff we wanted to eat.

Oooh .... raining cats and dogs .... 

We got lots of food to eat ...... 

Mini burgers, RM10.00 for 6 pieces

We ordered 3 chicken burgers and 3 pork burgers; of the 2, I preferred the chicken burgers as I felt the chicken chunk of meat was tastier and more succulent, compared to the minced pork patty which I felt was rather soft and unflavourful.

Roti John

I did not quite like this .... but I could savour the curry filling with egg ... 

From Yong Tai Cafe, we ordered ..... 

Stir-fried kolo mee 

Very delicious to eat while hot. The noodles were a bit smoky in flavour, yet savoury, aromatic and together with crunchy beansprouts, it was really yummy.

Crispy kolo mee with tomato sauce

The noodles were not over-fried ..... and were crunchy. I loved the intense flavour of the tomato sauce gravy ..... let the noodles soak in the gravy for a while before you eat so that it would soak in all the gravy. Yummy, really nice. 

Kolo mee

This was only RM3.00 and it was such a big, big bowl. We loved the springiness of the noodles tossed in aromatic shallot oil. Yums. 

Deep-fried cuttlefish, RM8.00

We loved this lots! The crust coating the succulent cuttlefish was thin and crispy, and tasted o a hint of curry flavour. We finished this platter of cuttlefish, and went back to buy a second serving! 

Pork skewers, RM3.00 each

Hmn .... somehow I didn't find these skewers as tasty as I did before .... there was even 1 left which no one had wanted to eat ..... 

Black Tortoise Kueh, RM0.50
Dad said this was a Hakky delicacy named "Chi Kak Ku" ... the pastry was made black with the addition of  "Chi Kak" herb. The filling was that of red bean.

Not in the picture were rojak, a serving of fatty char siew and red hot chicken wings. We were stuffed silly! After so many trips, I believed this was the one which I had enjoyed the most. All of us enjoyed ourselves very much. :))

Gasp

I went to sleep last night thinking about having pizza and fried chicken for dinner. I had intended to takeaway my pizza and fried chicken actually.

This morning when I came downstairs though,  Mom was going on and on about her brilliant idea of making pizzas. *Gasp*

Since she was making some bread rolls, she thought she might just make more of the bread dough and bake some pizzas for me. Mom also air-fried chicken for my dinner. *Gasp*

I had never told her anything ..... so was it a coincident?

My tv dinner 

Was it NLP? Or did God speak to Mom for me? Thank You for taking care of my dinner.

Zao Cai Fen Gan 糟菜粉干 @ Siang Siang Food Court Tabuan Jaya

I walked up and down, not knowing what to eat. Sigh. There's the regular kolo mee, laksa, stir-fried noodles, porridge .... sigh. Finally, I settled on having Zao Cai Fen Gan (糟菜粉干).

Zao Cai Fen Gan (糟菜粉干), RM5.00

Okie, this bowl was a disappointment and was not worth eating. 

Portion - very little noodles

Ingredients - there were chopped Zao Cai, a few chunks of tomatoes, some minced pork, and 3 pieces of fish balls. The minced pork was soft and disintegrated very easily. The fish balls were those regular ones from cold storage.

Taste - very astringent, faint hint of red rice wine.

This bowl of noodles was not satisfying at all. Not recommended.  

Unexpected Discount

I needed to buy a highlighter pen. So I went to Popular Book Store to buy one. While there, I also browsed along the shelves and looked at the books. One book which I picked up was entitled Conversations with God. I flipped through and began reading the first few pages ... and then was prompted to buy the book. RM49.50. Not cheap .... but there was a strong urge to buy it so I relented. It's ok, I told myself. I could get tax rebates. 

So with my book, a highlighter  and a roll of clear plastic book wrap, I proceeded to check out. The polite cashier greeted me and scanned the items. I had to pay RM22.35. 

I frowned, puzzled. I looked at the display on the register for what it seemed a long time, trying to figure out what the payment was for .... or whether they were correctly scanned. The cashier was probably wondering what was wrong with me. Why wasn't I paying yet?

So I seeked for clarification from him .... and he said that there was a 65% discount on the book! 

Wow! I said. I had no idea that the book was on offer for there wasn't any indication at all on the shelf. And there wasn't any discount sticker at all on the book! How would I expect that it would be on offer? 

For a RM49.50 book, I paid only RM16.90. I saved RM32.60. God is good. 

A new book for me to read .... 

I left the book shop ecstatic. I was really happy. God made my day. :)) 

Nasi Lemak in Kuching : Spore Nasi Lemak @ Coffee Talk

Where is it that sells the best nasi lemak in Kuching? Hmn .... it's all very subjective, where different people have different preferences. My favourites have always been the cheap and messy ones that I can get by the street side in Kuala Lumpur.

Hearsay tells me that one of the stalls selling very good nasi lemak in Kuching is at Coffee Talk. So, I was curious to know whether it would be overrated. On that particular day, when I got there at mid-morning, I did see a lot of patrons enjoying nasi lemak from this particular stall named "Spore Nasi Lemak". 

I ordered the the Nasi Lemak with Fried Chicken, RM6.50. 

Nasi Lemak with Fried Chicken, RM6.50; Kopi Peng, RM2.20

A closer look. 

The nasi lemak was served on a flat weaved basket lined with brown paper, actually.

Okie, here's a breakdown of the different items on my platter .... 

Papadum - the papadum was broken into bite-sized pieces; I got 3 pieces. Of which, 1 piece was crispy and well-fried. 2 of the other pieces were soft and soggy already, so those were a disappointment. 

Rice - warm, fluffy, fragrant and lemak. I detected the use of santan or coconut milk in the rice, so yes, I did like the rice. 

Sambal - slightly dry, and not the watery type; sweet, savoury and pungent. Not spicy at all for me. Mix the sambal together with the rice, and they complemented each other very well. 

Fried egg - instead of hard-boiled egg, the nasi lemak was served with a beautifully-rounded sunny side up. The yolk was runny, just the way I liked it. 

Fried chicken - crisp on the outside ... but so so soft and tender inside. Tasted very much of curry. The crust was salty so that it was great to eat with the rice. 

Cucumbers - 2 slices, skinned. Crisp and fresh. :)) 

Anchovies and peanuts - very small portions; Upon seeing the platter, my first thought was that the vendors were very stingy with the sambal, anchovies and peanuts. But because there were a lot of things on the plate to eat with the rice, the little portion of sambal, anchovies and peanuts were actually sufficient. It was a very enjoyable meal in the end. 

Is this the best nasi lemak in Kuching for me? I'd say that Spore Nasi Lemak is very good, certainly one of the better nasi lemaks in town. It kind of reminded me of the one at Old Town White Coffee but at a more affordable price. I'd recommend Spore Nasi Lemak to all avid nasi lemak lovers in Kuching. :))  

Simple Noodles For Lunch

Wah ... can sell ah? Mom asked, looking at my plate of noodles.

Delicious noodles that made a wholesome meal ..... :)) 

Of course, I replied.

I made lunch today after such a long hiatus. Mom's been cooking all my meals at home, so what a lucky girl I am.

Well, there was this craving for Mi Sedaap. It's not the first time I have this craving. It seems that it comes by once in a while.

First, wash and cut cabbage, mustard greens and carrots with shallots. There were char siew in the fridge too, so I sliced them up too. Then, I blanched the noodles. Today, I cooked 2 packets of noodles so there was enough for everyone. I seasoned the noodles first, before stirring them in the cooked vegetables and finally cracked an egg in it.

I made a whole mess of the kitchen in the process, though. And thank goodness Dad helped me wash up. Lol.

Baguette @ Munch

I'm back to Munch in a jiffy! Today, I tried the baguette with ham, cheese and vegetables. Well, I had known that the filling and the taste would be the same as the ciabatta that I ordered the other day ..... the only difference lied in the bread - the baguette.

My baguette, RM7.00 & Kopi Peng, RM2.40 

Again, I love the freshness that is everything.

Venture To Malay Wedding

A few of my colleagues and I went to attend the wedding reception of our former colleague's daughter. We were worried that we would feel out of place .... so we made a pact to go together.

At the function, we were greeted by our former colleague and then shown to a table .... where we basically sat around and waited. I was really happy to meet 2 former students from my former school though. I learnt that a few of them had been studying here at UITM.

Lunch was already set on the table ..... and right before 12.00 p.m., we were able to eat!

As we lifted up the lid, the food greeted us .... 

So what's in the serving dish? I'll start from the centre .... 

1) Sliced navel oranges .... lol .... my colleagues said the fruits weren't sweet; I did not try them at all.

2) The black coloured dish was beef masak hitam ..... The meat was hard, but I was able to flake it into small pieces before eating. The meat was totally infused in the spices ..... which I liked. :))

3) The 2 dishes of chicken curry flanked the beef masak hitam .... the curry was tasty and the gravy had good consistency .... I basically drenched my rice with the gravy before I tucked in.

4) The yellow mush next to the chicken curry turned out to be spiced pineapples. These were sweet and provided a balance of flavour to all the savoury dishes.

5) The last dish was salted fish sambal which really whet our appetite. Yums. 

My nasi minyak set 

Hmn ...... the portion was quite little though, and there were no refills. But we could go home right after we finished our food ..... it was a short and sweet reception. :))

Butter Biscuits

This is a snack which I am currently addicted to .....

Butter biscuits, RM1.20 each

I bought these at a stall facing the car park, just next to Lo Chuang Kee at Kenyalang Park Commercial Centre. Looking at the labels on the cart, I think these pastries were made by Wide Way Food Enterprise. So you could probably find these pastries elsewhere too ......

Yummy .... 

Encased within the thin pastry was the butter filling - dry and crumbly, but reasonably rich with the taste of butter. Most importantly, the filling wasn't too sweet. The pastries were very fresh, and were so good with a hot cuppa. Besides these butter biscuits, there were also peanut biscuits and 老婆饼 and 老公饼. I did try the 老婆饼 once, but it did not impress me as much as these butter biscuits. :))

Uncle Ben's Delicious Sarawak Laksa

I'd been wanting to try Uncle Ben's Laksa - and I know that there's a stall at Coffee Talk selling. Well, there was laksa with clams and all the works .... but I wanted laksa in its purest form. Nothing fancy for me. So I ordered a regular bowl and there it was ....

Uncle Ben's Delicious Sarawak Laksa, RM6.00 

Here's another shot ....

Let's see how this fared .....

1) Visually appealing - the ingredients were neatly arranged, the broth was light coloured, with an orange-y hue.

2) Portion was alright - a reasonable amount of rice vermicelli noodles, but I wish that there could be more broth, perhaps another quarter to half a ladle would suffice.

3) Toppings - good amount of crunchy beansprouts, shredded chicken and egg omelette to go with the noodles; no coriander sprouts used here, but in its place were chopped cilantro.

4) Prawns - 3 medium sized ones, 2 were succulent and fresh, 1 was soft and unfresh.

5) Condiments - sambal was the moist type (unlike the dry one at Sweetie Pie's); pungent and not too spicy.

6) Gravy - the all important element that makes or breaks the laksa;
Spiciness - not at all, but then I have very high tolerance for chillies and spiciness.
Consistency - good, watery but not diluted, not too lemak or thick and rich with coconut milk
Taste - the gravy has an earthy, licorice-flavour - denoting a heavier use of spices. Reminded me of the laksa at Sin Poh Poh - but that one had an even heavier taste of spices.

What I really liked was that it was served really boiling hot for I hated lukewarm laksa. Overall, Uncle Ben's Delicious Sarawak Laksa was alright in my books - but certainly not enough to make me want to come back that soon. Worth a try though.:))

Very Nice Restaurant Roasted Duck Rice & Noodles

I bought this deal at Supermain quite some time ago. Today I went to redeem it at Very Nice Restaurant (海福天) at Rock Road.

The deal :
2 plates of Hong Kong style duck noodles or rice for RM9.00, instead of RM15.00. That means I was paying RM9.00 for RM15.00 worth of food. That means each plate was worth RM7.50.

Picture from the Supermain website

The real thing .....

Roasted duck rice with clear soup, ground chilli for the rice; the other saucer with pickled cut chillies is for the noodles 

Duck noodles 

My comments :

1) I do not think the rice or noodles were worth RM7.50 each. I checked the menu. A regular plate was RM5.00. It was the drumstick set that cost RM7.50. If you look closely at the duck slices on my plate, no drumstick was visible. That means I was paying RM9.00 for something worth only RM10.00, and NOT RM15.00 like it was stated on the deal that I bought. Again - to put it in a very ugly way - I was cheated. 

2) The rice was flavoured, soft and fluffy - luckily Mom liked it. The noodles were springy and aromatic - luckily quite nice. No one commented on the duck - so it wasn't that great at all - nowhere near the standard and quality that we get at IPH Roasted at Jalan Sekama. 

3) Hong Kong style? I'd be ashamed to call this Hong Kong style roasted duck.

With the noodles, I ordered also .... 

Yam puffs, RM4.00

The filling .... 

Har Gao, RM4.50

Xiao Long Bao, RM5.00

All the dim sum weren't impressive and weren't nice. The Xiao Long Bao filling was hardly soupy and had a strong ginger taste. I also hated that hard lump of pastry atop the dumpling.  

From the kolo mee stall ...... 

Kolo kueh tiaw in red char siew sauce, RM3.50

In the end, my favourite item that morning would be the kueh tiaw. :)) 

Group deals like Supermain? I had been disappointed countless of times. Hmn ..... I should buy with caution next time ..... and I should not expect that any of the deals would live up to expectations. That's really sad actually.