After Spring Cleaning on Sunday ...

Lots of people are preparing for CNY starting from now ... and that includes cleaning the house. AT spent the entire day doing so .... and it was only by 4.30 p.m. that he had "lunch". I tagged along for tea, but actually at that odd hour .... hmn ... there weren't many places to go ....

Fried chicken wings, at Auntie Hong's Cafe

We went to Auntie Hong's Cafe .... and whilst AT had rice, I snacked on fried chicken wings. Freshly fried, there were burning hot and were super crispy ... quite pleasant to eat actually

After that .... we hanged out at the mall but before we knew it, it was 7.00 p.m. .... dinner time. AT had wanted to go to Sea Village ... 

 Our spread .... guessed AT deserved to treat himself with a good meal, after a hard's day of cleaning .... but hmn ... think we overdid it and could not finish the food .... 

Top left, clockwise :

Fresh coconut - just ripe, the juice was not sweet, but the drink was cooling and refreshing; and the coconut flesh was yum too. 

Curry fish - hmn ... the fish was not too big, but then it was too much for 2 persons, really. It could easily feed 3 - 4 actually. As a result, we could not finish it. The assam curry tasted sour enough, but I think the consistency could be thicker. The curry got diluted after some time ..... 

Salted fish pork belly - I quite liked this dish, whereby thin slices of pork belly were stir-fried to coat with piquant salted fish and sweet soy sauce ... yums .... 

Stir-fry cangkuk manis - the cangkuk manis was not sweet, so that was too bad. 

The meal cost us RM50.00, including drinks .... which I thought was quite alright. 

After that, we got caught in the rain .......... sigh .... 

Cincau C & Stir-fried Glass Vermicelli Noodle

I had not met my friend H for a long time, and so the other day we had lunch at Ming Xin near Hilltop Garden. And I guessed that I had really liked what I had ordered.

Cincau C, RM2.80

Somehow, grass jelly with milk was really satisfying .... but guilt-inducing ....

Fried Glass Vermicelli, RM7.00

The glass vermicelli dish was nice as well .... just that it was rather unsalty. I'd add some pickled red chillies and light soy sauce to the dish while eating. :))

Second Aunt's Ondeh-Ondeh

We had lots of sweet potatoes at home and could hardly finish them .... Mom steamed them and mashed them up, and then mixed them with flour to make bread. Second Aunt, however, also did the same ... but she mixed it with glutinous rice flour to make ondeh-ondeh.

The ondeh-ondeh were filled with grated coconut which had been cooked with palm sugar. After they were boiled in water, these rice balls were coated with freshly grated coconut .....

Homemade Ondeh-Ondeh

Second Aunt's ondeh-ondeh were generously filled ... and I got lots of coconut filling with every bite. It was really yum indeed. :))

Wedding Banquet @ Grand Margherita, Kuching

So an hour before the event, AT coaxed me to accompany him to a wedding luncheon .... and I did, albeit with some reluctance. I did not know the bride nor the groom after all, and wedding meals were really stuffy and boring ... sigh ....

But anyway ... I must say that the food was good! I did not take photos like I usually did .... cause except for AT, the table was occupied by people I did not know ... but I liked all the food served. Now, there was the cold dish, the sharks fin soup, the roasted duck, the steamed cod fish, buttered prawns .....

Compared to my cousin K's wedding reception the other day, the one here at Grand Margherita seemed more refined.

Just take a look at the only 2 photos I took ....

Braised sea cucumber with mushrooms and broccoli

I love this classic dish, which has the simplest of flavours. 

Lotus leaf rice

 The rice was not only nicely presented, it tasted really savoury and delicious. 

AT and I left not long after the rice dish was served .... phew .... I could finally breathe again .... 

Congratulations to the newly-wedded couple. Till death do you part.

*****
My cousin K's wedding luncheon. Read here.
My cousin K's wedding dinner. Read here. 

Lunch @Tom's Kuching

Everyone happens to be in Kuching for Christmas .... and thus, there formed a plan to meet for lunch.

"Somewhere nice," my friend said, and I was instructed to think about a place to gather.

How about that place in Padungan? my friend then suggested.

So I made a reservation for 11.30 at Tom's Padungan.

5 minutes before 11.30 a.m., I drove past Tom's and it was closed!!

I quickly called the restaurant up and enquired ... and the lady told me that they were opening "soon". Lol.

What we had ...

From top, clockwise : Prawn Aglio Olio, Mushroom Burger, Turkey Ham and Cheese Panini, and Chicken Chop

I was the one who had the chicken chop. The pan-fried chicken was nice - well-marinated, very crisp on the outside, and succulent and juicy inside ... and the black pepper sauce was served separately. The chicken was good enough on its own without the sauce. I enjoyed the salad, which was fresh and lightly dressed, a lot. 

Though I did not try the rest of the items, my friends sang praises of the food. 

For dessert, we had coffee and 3 types of cheese cake .... 

From top, clockwise : Coffee, Pistachio Cheese Cake, Blueberry Cheese Cake, Cappucino Cheese Cake

The cakes were good, very rich and cheesy ;P,  and indulgent .... but  they were very filling and we left more than half uneaten for each slice .... geez, it was a waste. 

Well, love the ambience of the place, the food was not really cheap, but then ... we did not mind indulging once in a while, especially when in company of great friends. :)) 

TwinklePan Popcorn

TwinklePan had a kiosk at Cityone Megamall in Kuching, and I believe it was newly-opened. So, lots of people were queuing up for cream puffs, but I was more interested in the popcorn that day.

At the kiosk, there were some samples for free tasting ... and I tried the Caramel Popcorn and the Caramel Almond Popcorn, and the Peanut Butter Popcorn. The only flavour I did not taste was the Cappuccino. I did not fancy coffee in my popcorn.

Of those that I tried, I found the Caramel varieties to be very sweet ..... and so I chose the Peanut Butter Popcorn, which was just a little less sweet. The Peanut Butter Popcorn of course was nuttier in flavour.

A tub for RM6.90

Of course, to improve the flavour, I think TwinklePan could do with more butter in the Popcorn, for a richer and more satisfying flavour. And maybe, to cut back the sugar a little. :))

Sweet Chilli Stirfry

I saw some really fresh sweet chillies at the grocer's the other day. They were light green in colour and larger than the usual fiery red chillies. They sold at RM12.00 per kg.

Though I had never cooked this dish before, I was tempted to experiment .... I picked up only 8 pieces and they cost me RM2.00.

At home, I sliced the chillies lengthwise to remove the seeds inside .... and then I sliced them into thin diagonal slices. Then I stir-fried them with some onions, anchovies and sambal.

Sweet Chilli Stirfry

Well .... the result was a piquant and spicy dish which was really appetising with plain white rice. Believe me, you could finish a bowl of rice easily with just this one dish. I loved it!!