Cheat Day

Went to PJ initially to get some tofus. Tofus only.  My mistake was going there with a grumbling stomach.  The smell of roasted meats and fish was still strong in the air.  Iftar was less than an hours time then.  Had I been fasting i might not have been tempted so much by the smell.  But i wasn't.  So, four blocks of tofu were soon in company of a slab of roasted ikan pari, a container of white rice, a tiny portion of rebung masak lemak, and a side order of kerabu brinjal. Cheat day my toochus.
   But never de mind, I didn't wallop abis the rice, finished the pari panggang and rebung though.  Tomorrow back to my oatmeal breakfast, some mihun soup for lunch, and broiled greens salad for dinner.  Lost about ..hmm... let's see.. 4kg since I began my much diminished calorie and hopefully cholesterol intake of diet, 6 weeks ago.  6 more weeks to go before I do another blood test.  I haven't touched a single udang and ketam since then.  My intake of red meat has also been greatly lessened.  Not much oil and goreng-goreng stuff either.
   Let's see if I can manage to lower my cholesterol level.

Cake Maker

Cikgu Yus passed me this recipe for steamed choc cake a few weeks ago see.. Raving about how easy it was making this cake and how unbelievably delicious fattening the cake was.
I had already mastered Tausa Piang, and so I thought, why not try this steamed cake thingy.. I didn't have an oven (been meaning to get one for ages but hadn't), I didn't have a mixer but I thought I could do with some muscle work and do it the old-fashion way..by beating the hell out of the batter.. So, tried the recipe I did.
Consfood made finding the ingredients so easy...and the recipe itself was..for want of a funner phrase..outrageously easy.

The steamed Supermoist Choc Cake was DELICIOUS!.. I just couldn't believe I had successfully produced this mind-bogglingly delicious cake that I had to make it a second and a third and a fourth time. All tasted amazingly good. Made two a few weeks ago, one for my faithful eaters..(my sis and bro) and brought one for my colleagues to taste..(rave reviews aitelyu!) Felt so awesomely amazed at the deliciousness of the cake and that I, moi, me, and not a bakery produced it, that when Herlina asked for the recipe, I gave it there and then.

Then I made four choc cakes a few days ago, left one for the family, combined two into two layers for a baby cuz's birthday do, and brought one to Kudat for friends to try. Pun sedap, they say.

The Steamed SuperMoist Choc Cake with Choc Ganache.

Humbly I say unto myself, proud I am of the cake, but what other cakes can be made through steaming eh? Pazidah gave me the push actually. She said, bringla a cheese cake next time. Same cooking situation, no oven, no mixer.. Could I perraps make a steamed cheesecake?

Surfed youtube for one and found one which looked manageable. Found the ingredients at Consfood and proceeded to make one last night. And voila! This happened.

Steamed Raspberry Cheesecake

Not bad... not bad at-tall..

Overworked pegasus

zoo lok kawi...
shabu-shabu suria KK..
Times Bookstore..
Karamunsing computer stores...
Apple Donut stopover..
Ma'ang pickup..
home send-in..
Back to KK bank-ins...
Back at nest...
nursing a mildly throbbing head ache...
a nice end to January 2010..

Fish fingers

Yes, drove over to Grandmum's around 5 just now. She knows how much i love fish..of any kinds. My aunt had texted me a few days ago telling me that Ina's(Kadazan language for mother) preserved sea minnows are 'ripe' for eating and that she invites me to come over for some.
I reached the house in 10 minutes only to find only Grandad tottering around. He said Ina was atas bukit with Kiki. What for? Oh..Kiki is surveying the grounds. Ok. So up I climbed to see what they were up to.
Seems Kiki wants to build their family house on top of that semi-leveled bukit. So her first step is to have the hill properly leveled. ;)..good...good..
After a while we slowly made our way down.. Ina is over 80years old(i think0 but she was as sure-footed as a mountain goat going down that incline. Amazing.
Anyway, both Kiki and i requested for some Talapia fish to bring home. Ina gave some to both of us..after giving me a small portion of the preserved fish or locally known as noonsom sada' or bosou. She had preserved the fish in a plastic jar which previously contained some wrapped sweets. My small jar was formerly a peanut butter glass jar. Grandad was mildly indignant at Ina for giving me such a small container. Ina said that it was enough for me. Which it was. I was already salivating at the prospect of tasting the delicacy. The pungent smell, the fishy taste and the sourness of the fermenting rice...ahh.
And sure enough, we had our dinner there as well. My uncle, Kiki and I had each taken some rice to the table..with some catfish soup. And then I decided to fry a couple of Talapias. Kiki smiled and announced that she'll wait for the fish before having dinner.. Hahah...pandai aa..
So, after frying the fish, we had a simple dinner of catfish soup (catfish with some winter melon), the fried Talapia and the magnificent bosou with some fresh lada padi. Of course, what better way to pick on the fried fish than the fingers? Best food in the world...

Food is me

I am happy when I am eating good food. Good food to me means the food is tasty, came from a clean kitchen, served by polite waiters/waitresses, and served preferably within 10-15 minutes of order. A happy me will make a frequent visitor of that eatery. And i will not be forced to eat in any eatery that will not make me happy.
That's why i sneak out from work whenever possible to go find food that makes me happy. Hmm... sneak out is too slimy a phrase. Means to try to get away from a place unnoticed.. and i don't actually do that. I couldn't care less being caught.
Today I drove to Damai to have breakfast. There's this place which serves fish mee/mee hun which fits my morning happy meal just fine. My order today was Curry Mee Hun and iced Milo. Bliss.. Parking was not a problem, I was meant to come here today. A parking was waiting for me just behind the restaurant.

jalan-jalan cuci mata

I was contemplating on where to eat for breakfast today last night (talk about planning..)and was sorely tempted to find that TOmYam place again in Sinsuran. I thought about the jam and the difficulty in finding a parking space and what other sane reason to go to that neck of the woods other than just to sample the TomYam one more time.. and slept on it.
This morning I woke up nearly 8 and immediately thought of the TomYam. That's it, I thought! I had drifted off into sleep last night thinking of doing my credit card pay-ups today via on foot. How? Park at one spot and walk around KK!
Ok. So I drove off to KK.. around 9-ish I was already around the SInsuran blocks, doing my first round for parking search. I have this thing about parking and going to a particular place..if I'm meant to go and have a looksee at a place, parking would find me. If not, then i should go find at somewhere else. So, if i was meant to eat TomYam today, a car would vacate a parking spot for me. Which..on the 2nd try.. a car did. Great!
I had my Tomyam..and thought..the one in Beverly HIlls is spicier, had more ingredients in it..much bigger bowl.. but this one was just right.

Noted the 'Mongolian chicken' stall in the same kedai and made a mental note to get a tapau from there when I got back.
After breakfast, I walked. Walked past the Bank Negara. Walked across the streets to the Aussie Monument. Walked pass the Menumbok/Beaufort Bus Station. Walked across the streets again towards the DBKK building. Then walked the length of the blocks of building at Gaya St. and went to do my business with all the banks that my wallet is painfully attached to. And walked some more.. and finally finished my monthly errands at Standard Chartered.
And then scooted over to the new shopping centre. Suria. So not crowded I could rollerblade inside there and be the happy gilmore. I spotted this signboard that spelled out TIMES BOOKSTORE and my heart gave a leap! Oh yea... promising! and went over to the escalators. I could smell the glue and new books(really now..) from the moment i stepped off the moving stairs. The staff were uniformly in black Tee-s and pants. I was in black Tee-s too..hey..
So, i walked two steps into heaven, i mean, the store and paused and surveyed my surroundings. hmm... might recall that heaven bit for a while.. Ok laarr ( i opined)... and noticed this section next to the counter. I can't recall what the books there were housed under.. but I of course zeroed in on the ones within eye level. Lo and behold!... there..right there.. was the book i'd been looking for for so long. I'd already read it... but didn't buy it then for reasons i can't quite fathom.. There... Ken Follet's Pillars of the Earth. Such an epic of a novel it is. Reading it is comparable (at least to me) to having this sumptuous feast of all the delicacies that satisfy the five senses..and burping(oh i beg your pardon) with the gratitude of being sated afterwards. But of course I must have the book now. Called up Yus to ask if she managed to find the book 'cuz much as i love the book, having two would be most unacceptable. Bought it I did. Yess... And yea.. chatted with the boy ( i feel so ancient that i must call this boy a boy) who was manning the counter. Asked him where the local writer section was, perchance the other book i was looking for would be around. He was like this shy puppy hesitant to please the master as he pointed towards where I might find books by local writers. If i didn't gently ask for the balance money for the book i bought, he'd've ushered me to the said shelves. The book, in addition to the membership fee (Yes, i'm a store member now.. can get discounts next visit) cost RM43.63. So I gave the cute puppy RM53.60. All the while I was making small chitchats with him. He punched in the numbers and took out a few notes...which i noticed weren't supposed to be that much given back to me.. He looked a bit lost and was about to push back the slot when I interrupted his thoughts... 'just 10 ringgit'. He wavered a bit.. i smiled and counted the maths with him... i think he punched in the wrong numbers..and he gave an embarrassed smile and said 'sorry, bingung-bingung ni..'. aluuu...
After paying, he did show me the shelves where the supposed books of local writers can be had. Hmm... extensive not at all. oh well, got what i wanted. and went out of the bookstore and out of the building.
And walked across the street towards Wisma Sabah. Went into that tunnel-like corridor and walked on. Now I think i've passed through this corridor a few times before but i've never until then noticed this small shop where local traditional ethnic costumes were displayed and sold(apparently). This being a curious day, I followed my curiousity and walked in. I was greeted by this very friendly lady whom i later found out was named Lina Angkat. Very forthcoming with her conversation and information. Found out a lot of things today from her.
And so...(being long-winded today), I walked into Wisma Merdeka, went into this jewellry store, found out the girl behind the counter was a former student, got myself another hematite ring, bought some unripe slices of mangos and thought that was that.
I resumed my walk back to Sinsuran and back to my car. It was nearly 1pm. Just before going to my car, I returned to that restaurant where I had my TomYam breakfast and tapau-ed a chicken rice for lunch. Went to my car, and went home.
Interesting day today. I just might make this a monthly affair.

Fish mee hun soup

been on the lookout for a good place to eat TOM YAM food around Kota Kinabalu or near KK. I can't quite say that a good Tom Yam should only come from the kitchen of a Thai...cuz you know..tepuk dada tanya selera. Let's see...there's this chinese restaurant at Sinsuran, this place at Bakut, this Kedai Janggut (so it's called) at Hilltop, and this kedai in Beverly Hills i recently revisited (used to eat there..now it's managed by some other eatery). The tom yam there is quite something..my eyes watered due to the spiciness of it but it was sedap! And today I had mix fish mee hun soup there... big bowl of delicious broth of fresh fish slices, tomatoes, fresh ginger, coriander leaves!...waaah i tell you... i think i can have it everyday!

Birthdays

My brother turned 14 yesterday. The age difference doesn't really show. Ever since he started sprouting like a well-nourished sappling, overshooting me and thereby relegating me to the rank of the shortest of siblings, he has even started looking a bit older for his age - sometimes. We had lunch at Hyatt. Why there of all places? My mum's choice and liking. Oh, I have no complaints. Nagisa is always a pleasure to go to as well. I simply adore the steamed egg served there. Although I've tasted better sushi, the ambience certainly make up for any other shortcomings.

Later last night, all of us headed over to Uncle Arius' residence. Sis and hubs had come over from Labuan the night before, bringing with them much cheer and chocolates and Vodka-coctails (thank you loads you two!!!). Anyway, I brought them over with my silverado around 6.30pm. Food and drinks were aplenty. The twins had set up the karaoke and since there were not many around yet, I of course found it much comfortable to belt out a few tunes.

There was much cause for celebration. Arnaz and Bradley had just had their church confirmation, the twins had happily graduated from UMS (each with a degree in Biochemistry and Geology - forgot which is for who), it was the birthday celebration of Joanne(14), Brandon Jedd(12), a few other cousins and uncles who celebrated their birthdays in October. Songs were sung, cakes were cut, drinks were drunk to much laughter and merriment.

Met cousin Lita after not meeting her for quite a while. Still the same girl, new hairstyle (she lost the Shakira look though), a new tattoo on the inside of her right ankle. sigh, didn't have time to catch up with her though. Spent my night eating the delicious long simmered Tilapia (my grandmum's recipe of course!), and singing and drinking this marvelous coctail of v.s.o.p corvoisier and sprite. Never knew it tasted so smooth..

The party was still in full swing when I decided that enough was enough. I needed to send sis and hubs back to the hotel. Why weren't they staying over at my parents'? Apparently there's this chinese custom that says the daughter cannot stay overnight at her parents place for 4 months after the wedding. So, there. After sending them over to the hotel, I drove back to Sierra. I took the time to wind down, checked my FB, washed my face, put on the elastics on my braces.. and finally hit the sack.

It was a Saturday well spent.

Glut

Visited the Lok Kawi Ramadhan Stalls. A lot of authentic semenanjung cuisines here. Why do I say authentic? Most of the sellers are the wives of army staff (mostly not from around east malaysia) who are very much skilled in cooking the food they are most familiar with. Food, food and more food...


I love this! Blue rice..a quartered salted duck egg..some dessicated coconut..finely shredded cabbage, bunga kantan and long beans (raw)..batter-coated fried fish..and this thingy inside the chilli..chilli n prawn paste..delicious curry-like sauce.

Ramadhan Al-Mubarak

I would like to wish a happy Ramadhan month for all my muslim friends. Surely one can't ignore the one event that goes along with this month.. Ramadhan food bazaar! I hope to be able to drive around and find the best food around. I miss nasi kerabu and all its splendid lauks. I still remember the deep fried 'Rangka Ayam' that used to be one of the main attraction in Sri Serdang Pasar Ramadan. Students and their limited funds...(or issit unlimited food funds?) I can't remember for the life of me the exact name the 'Rangka Ayam''s more famous name. Somebody help me out!!
What's this rangka ayam? It's the leftover of the chicken where all the other good meaty bits have been picked and used for other recipes. What little meat left is still good enough though... it's deep fried and sold as it is. Nice ..crunchy .. snack or meal.

Food, Glorious Food

Went for another visit to the Lokan Bakar area in kg. Salut with one of my best friends. We first went to this place which was right at the end of the rows of stalls (on the right side of the road if you're driving into the salut area). One tumpuk of small lokan was RM7. We also ordered cold coconut drinks and one coconut pudding. After waiting for some time, the lokan bakar came. Immediately I could see that it wasn't up to taste. It was a tad salty and the sambal was not fiery. We finished it though. ....and drove off to another stall. hehehe... which wasn't very far even. We passed by a stall and stopped at a place called Sri Menanti. Same price per tumpuk, RM7. A bigger tumpuk is RM10. We didn't bother ordering drinks. We were just there for the lokan. Verdict? Nice... Good enough for another visit. (Though I'll be going to another one next time to check out the taste.)

Sunday Feast

Amidst the haze of painkiller, I managed to get through Sunday.

Getting a much longed-for breakfast of Ngiu Chap from Loi Hin restaurant at Dongonggon. SImply delicious..

Sending a birthday cake for my beloved aunt and celebrating it simply with a cake-cutting ceremony. Simply sweet..

Yam Cake from Strawberry Cakehouse

Aunt Phyllis n Eve Sherie

Eve Sherie

Going over to my Grandma's for some Kempiala (Tilapia) soup.

Uncle Linus using the sizud to catch the Tilapia!

Grandma down near a patch of greens.. collecting herb ( i should think so) called sintaata'

sintaata'.. that's in kadazan. i know not in malay what it's called.

some pinaasakan basungan, the kempiala with sintaata'

SImply devine... simply heaven...

NewYork2

Let's see... these were the last real food I had before I had my operation. Will be a long time from now until I can eat something similar... am missing the steamed fish at Restoran Sedap and the fresh steamed prawns at Salut...
By the by, these are from New York x2. Had them with Mum n Bro on the 2nd May.

Seafood Salad
Black pepper Steak with baked potato

dessert.. banana split!

Downsized

Stood on the weighing machine this morning (and yesterday too) and saw the scale at 52.5kg. I didn't think i'd go down that fast that low.
Had some mashed bubur ayam again. added some marmite into it.
Had some yoghurt as well.
Sipped plain water aplenty.
Warmed up some milk and mixed some baby nestum. Yummy it's not really.
Sabar ja la.

Birthday Mama

My mum's birthday today. Gave her a hug and a kiss. Yesterday mum contemplated buying a brand new handphone for her own birthday gift. Today she waivered. The weather was ever so warrrrmm!!.. Bought her a birthday cake though. Happy Birthday Mum!! Love you loads!

Finish Kursus

Poco-poco
Tn. Hj Zakaria giving comments..

Some of the participants.. masing2 dengan laptop..

Sabah representatives

Last lunch at Seri Malaysia Hotel.. semua sedap..

Alamak..wrong orientation.. on the right is the rojak buah sedap.. the plate on the left is a combination of ulam and sambal belacan, some sambal ikan masin and some kerabu.. all sedap...

My roomate. Koretti @Kori.. colorful personality

Going back suda.. we bought the bus tickets at this place.

Look at Kori's background her left. Those are ticket counters for so many companies to so many destinations.

The one place I love to go to when I get the chance to go to KL is Central Market. I could roam around for hours and still be short of time. I particularly love this Kedai Buku in CM. I bought a book by Ken Follet here. It didn't matter that the book was not new. The book would cost more than Rm40 new. I got it for just Rm28!

Where else? The famous air mata kucing stall at Petaling Street!

My RM9 dinner at KLIA. Notice the ikan keli goreng, ladies and gentlemen.