DELICIOUS DINNER 17

A series of home cooked dinner by my wife.

Braised chicken-marinated in light and dark Soy sauce, Honey, XO Oyster sauce and Pepper-tender with a refreshing flavor.

Oven roasted Pork belly- three layered of glorious meat-a bit dry but crispy and meaty.

Tomatoes fish stock soup with whisked Omega 3 eggs-tasty, nutritious and full of Vitamin C.

IKEA MUTIARA DAMANSARA.

My mum wants to buy a lampshade for her room and that was how we ended up at Ikea Damansara, for dinner.
The halal food served needs no introduction as it is cheap, affordable and tasty except for a "Sausage scare" a few years ago.
The clean, comfortable and spacious food court was furnished with furniture, fittings and lighting from their own store.

View of the food court.

Poached Salmon-the signature dish that boasts of Swedishness, served with boiled Potatoes, Broccoli and a Buttery cream sauce-the Salmon block was fresh but have shrunk in size-a healthier choice-Rm12.50/

Green Salad-the sauce was perfect with the fresh Organic greens-Rm4.20/

Meatballs with Fries-meaty, well marinated and minced spread with brown gravy and served with Lingonberry sauce for extra flavor-sinfully good-Rm10.50/

Vegetarian Pasta with Tomatoes Sauce which was deliciously thick, tangy and herbaceous-Rm5.25/

Chicken Chop with Fries-a delicious slightly roasted crust that enveloped a tender and lean piece of meat with Swedish Lemon herb sauce-satisfying!-Rm8.40/

The hand stitched Lampshade-RM65/

Total bill:Rm46/
Location:Ikea Damansara,
No:2, Jalan PJU 7/2,
Mutiara Damansara.
Tel:03-7726-7777.

AVOCADO TREE.

While having an evening walk around my neighborhood I saw this small tree filled with small green pear shaped fruits. Out of curiosity and on closer inspection, I found out that it was an Avocado tree of the Indonesian variety. Who would have thought of an Avocado tree growing in a open area in the Block D, PKNS flats in Section 17/2, Petaling Jaya?

An Avocado fruit sells for between Rm2-Rm5/ in the supermarket and it is mainly used in salad, spread on toast with a dash of salt and pepper, dip, fillings, milkshake or you can eat it on it's own.

The Avocado fruit is Green skinned and Pear shaped with a hard seed casing and ripen upon harvesting-smooth, fatty, creamy texture-high in monounsaturated fats-good for people with Cholesterol-decreases bad Cholesterol (LDL) and increases good Cholesterol (HDL)-filled with B Vitamins, Vitamin E & K, Potassium and high fiber too.

RESTORAN WAI KEE.

When I yearn for home cooked style food, Restoran Wai Kee is number one on my list.
Their specialty are Hakka and local food like Yong Tau Foo, Chicken rice wine, boiled free range Chicken, Curry Fish head, Char Yok, Mui Choy Kow Yok...etc.

I eat here at least once a month and the food have always been consistent.
The place is a typical neighborhood coffee shop with no airs about it.
The kitchen with an open window is situated at the rear end of the shop and are helm by a team of able, fabulous and great women chefs.
This restaurant is family owned and the father and daughter take turns to take orders plus they are very accommodating and friendly too!

Parking is hell, most customers park by the road side, hopefully when Tesco open beside it, parking will not be a problem!

Dining alfresco outside.

Boiled Free range chicken-1/4 thigh portion-garnished with deep fried garlic, coriander leaves and spring onion-the meat was tender, fragrant and muscled.

Garlic chillies sauce for the chicken.

Fish paste stuffed greens, White smooth Beancurd and Beancurd sheet-fillings are generous with traces of pork and salted fish.

Braised flavorful 3 layered Pork belly with sliced Shiitake mushroom and soft peanuts in light Soy sauce.

Claypot Chicken rice wine-with extra fried egg with finely sliced ginger added -the rice wine soup was "kau" (thick volume) and you can get you to sweat with each spoonful without going to the gym.

Stir fried Sweet Potato leaves-smooth and leafy.

Total bill-Rm70/
Location:S/Lot 2, Batu 4 1/2,
Jln Kelang Lama, Kuala Lumpur.
H/P-013-391-8269-016-227-6210.

RESTORAN BALI HAI SEAFOOD MARKET.

In the night, the neon, twinkling and glistening colorful lights of Restoran Bali Hai along Persiaran Gurney, Penang draws you like "A moth to a flame".
The restaurant is quite unique with a huge tree growing out through it's ceiling in the middle of the dining area ( Good preservation's practice).
Thatched Attap roof decor make the place feel like a mini resort with a relax ambiance.

The restaurant's tag line "IF IT SWIMS WE HAVE IT" fitted them perfectly. At one side of the restaurant, there were many decks of glass aquarium filled full with live local and exotic seafood.
It is a place to tuck into fresh local and exotic seafood and Chinese cuisine with friends or family in a relaxed atmosphere.
The restaurant's location is 5 star with a sea front view and parking is ample along Persiaran Gurney.

The outside view of the restaurant-so enticing!

Decks of aquarium filled with live seafood and colorful tablecloth.

The mighty tree in the middle of the dining area.

Garouper, Geoduck, River Prawns and Crabs- (center) F**** gave a thumbs up for a delicious dinner.

Kam Heong La La (Clams) was fresh with a tangy and fiery flavor from the sweet bean paste and bird's eye chillies-Rm12/

Claypot Taufoo with assorted Seafood and vegetables- flavorful and the gravy was perfect with White rice-Rm15/

Assam Tilapia fish-the meat was white and fresh with a firm texture-Assam (tamarind juice) gravy was absolutely delicious- garnished with aromatic Mint leaves- Rm 26/

Salted Duck Egg Crabs-the meaty Crab cooked with Duck egg was flavorsome and fine in texture-the best part was devouring them bits by bits with our fingers and licking up the Duck egg coated shell, too!-Rm66/

Total bill:Rm165
Location:90-90A-90B-90C-90D,
Persiaran Gurney, Penang,
Tel:04-228-8272.

KEDAI KOPI NEW CATHAY

Kedai Kopi New Cathay is a corner coffee shop located along Burmah road off Pulau Tikus, Penang. It is a famous eatery with many stalls that offers nearly all of Penang hawker's delicacies. There are a few shady trees besides the shop that provide shade for those who like to sit outside.
As it was a Sunday, the place was packed to the rim and we waited for about ten minutes for a table.
The prices of food range from Rm3/-Rm4/.

The main entrance.

Hokkien mee-needs no introduction-with Rice Vermicelli, Water Spinach, Beansprout, strips of lean Pork, prawns, half a hard boiled Egg and some deep fried Shallots plus extra Chillies on the spoon-the broth was well prawn flavored-one of best that I have tasted in Penang.

Inside the shop-my two nephew engrossed with their Gameboy while waiting for the food to be serve.

Char Kueh Kak-fried Radish cake with fat crunchy Beansprout and Chinese Chives-drier than the one I had at McAlister road with a smokey flavor and a bitter aftertaste (some pieces were burnt).

Laksa with Rice Vermecelli served with Long Bean, Prawn, Tau Pok, coagulated cubed Pig's Blood, Cockles-a bit diluted- was not "lemak" but surprisingly spicy with the extra Sambal Chillies paste.

Pan Mee-my "Ang Moh" sil Hannah does not want any Green-just Mushroom, minced Pork and crackling Ikan Bilis (deep fried Anchovies)-she said that the mee was smooth and the taste was OK.

Char Koay Teow-with some cockles and prawns-was quite plain but tasty!

Loh Mee-it was different from KL-served with Prawn, strips of lean Pork, sliced Fish cake and complemented by a topping of Coriander leaves, deep fried Shallots and clear tasty broth-a very refreshing and flavorful meal.

Wanted to taste the famous Apong but the queue was too long, so we ordered Banana, Raisin Pancake to round off our meal-the crust was crispy and the inside was soft and filled with sweet Raisin and sliced Banana-sweet and fruity flavor.

MUMMY FANG OTAK-OTAK

A bespectacled lady interrupted me with her sales pitch about her famous takeaway Otak-Otak while I was enjoying a plate of Chak Kueh Kak at Sin Seow Fong Lye, McAlister Road, Penang.

Chak Kueh Kak- fried White Radish cake served on a plate with a piece of Banana leaf was delicious and filled with extra "Chai Poh" (preserved dried Radish), crunchy beansprout and chives but was a bit oily.

She introduces herself as Mummy Fang and claims that her Otak-Otak was the best in town and that it was featured on the Internet (Rasa Rasa, Penang Hawker).
I bought a pack at Rm2/ from her and tried it.
Oh! it was tasty.

She was delighted when I bought 10 more packets from her for takeaway.

Otak-Otak (Spicy Fish Custard)-the ingredients are Coconut milk, Egg, Flour, Turmeric, Lengkuas (Galangkal), Shallots, Lemongrass, Chillies, Fish fillet and Daun Kadok (wild Pepper leaves) wrapped with Banana leaves-cooked by steaming it-the density of ingredients in the Otak-Otak was of equal proportions- the snowy White fish meat was tender and sweet, while the thick gravy was aromatic, creamy, spicy and soft-Rm2/.

Mummy Fang H/p-016-471-0430.