Slurping With Satisfaction

When it comes to Fish Head Mee Hoon, I am rather picky about it.  This is because I really love to cook my own version it, preserving the white natural taste of fish soup without adding any evaporated milk.  Furthermore, MY own version of  Fish Head Mee Hoon comes with generous pieces of deep fried fish head and taste fresh!

Anyway, I found out there is this Fish & Noodle House in Damansara (near Super Tanker Restaurant, which is near the Damansara Specialist Hospital), which turn out to be one of the good fish head noodles that I had tasted so far.

A basic bowl of Fish Head Noodle is priced minimum RM7.50, but if you opt for fillet or salmon fish, prepare to pay a higher price.
The noodles are served in a very big bowl, but the actual portion is just right for me, and there's nothing to complain about the serving size.

I also order a plate of deep fried fish skin (RM3).  This fried skin is so tasty, and I called it the healthy version of pork lard, actually.  You can actually pop into your mouth and chew it for its aroma, or if it's too crispy for your liking, just pop into the noodle soup and imagine it is the deep fried yummy lard!

 

 

I've also tasted their spicy pan fried salmon slices. Not bad, for someone who doesn't quite like salmon, like myself!  It is, however a bit pricey at RM15.90.

Now, just sit back and enjoy the piping hot noodle.  Taste the nice aroma of the lightly wine-flavoured soup.

Now looks who is seriously face down and eating with enjoyment.....

Slurpy and Yummy!!

MY Mee Jawa

Last night as I got into my bed, I just can't keep thinking of what to cook on Saturday.  My mood of cooking just came back. Ha, it's been sometime since I last cook Mee Jawa....the last time was Chinese New Year early this year.  So, it's gotta be Mee Jawa tomorrow, I dreamt!

Well, it is not difficult to make MY Mee Jawa.  A good bowl of Mee Jawa lies on the gravy, actually.  For a start, you just need to prepare a good stock.  My version include prawn shells and big pork bones, as shown on this picture on the right.

Next, I have to prepare the gravy made from sweet potatoes (orange ones would be the best), potatoes and carrot.  Unfortunately, this morning I could not find any orange-coloured sweet potatoes, and thus I have to adjust my ingredients by adding extra carrot for the colour. 

After cooking these until soft, I placed them into a blender, until it becomes a puree like this.

To prepare the gravy, I just mixed the stock, the puree, some tomato ketchup, chilli paste (to add chilli padi, if you like it hot), assam water, and sugar and salt to taste.

 

Next, prepare the condiments that go with it, like hard boiled eggs, some potatoes (cooked and cubed), fresh red and green chilli, fried tofu, and of course not forgetting some prawn fritters.  The prawn fritters are usually thin and crispy.  But MY version, I love the soft tetxure like the ones in rojak.  The condiments will look colourful like this:

Now, the Mee Jawa will not be mee jawa if it does not have the shallot crisps. 
I NEVER want to use the ready-made one.  It takes some extra effort and time to make these shallot crisps myself, but I'm telling you, it is worth the every effort.  In my version of this dish, I love to put some of these crisps into the gravy for that extra oomph!

Once that is all done, I'm ready to taste MY Mee Jawa.  Just blanch some yellow noodles.  I have deliberately leave out taugeh, as both me and my husband do not like taugeh in our noodles!  Just garnish with the condiment and ladle in the gravy.  Place some some lettuce, shallot crisps and serve immeditely.  Don't ever forget to squeeze in some lime (limau kasturi).

Now you see it!

Now you don't !!

I dedicate this page to my sister who is now in Shanghai.  I'm sure she misses all the GOOD food here.

Well, here's the recipe, should you crave for Mee Jawa....This recipe should be sufficient for 4 -5 people.

Gravy:

600 g sweet potatoes (orange ones) or [potatoes+carrot, if sweet potatoes are not available]

400 ml stock

1500 ml water

50 ml assam water

4 tbsp tomato ketchup, 50g chilli paste, some fried shallots,

rock sugar, salt

Prawn Fritter:  Mix all ingredient and deep fried until golden colour

100g Tapioca flour, 100g rice flour

300 ml water

200 gm prawns

salt & pepper to taste.

Other Ingredients:  1kg yellow noodle; prawn (cooked & shelled); hardboiled eggs; 2 potatoes (boiled & cubed); fresh red and green chill; lettuce; fried shallot crisps.

Discovering the Secret of Pudu "Siew Yoke"

On a bright Sunday today, the five of us made our way to discover Pudu's best kept "siew yoke" or Roasted pork. This place is notorious for its parking, and hence we set out at 11.30am from Puchong, despite the fact that this outlet will only start selling at 12.30 pm as stated.

We ordered 3 strips of the roast pork, each costing RM13.50. When it came, the serving was quite SMALL
for our BIG appetite.

So, we order another strip. All in all, we ordered 4 st rips of roast pork, one strip of barbecue pork ("char siew") and a plate of roast chicken for 2 pax.

The best thing about the roast pork here is that the skin was crunchy, but the meat was tender. The fat layer practically melts in my mouth, giving one the overall satisfaction as it went down our throats!!

The condiment that came well with the meat was the chilli sauce. The soup is on the house, but self-service of course. The free soup was rather disappointing, anyway, although I noticed my husband seemed to enjoy it!

I could not help noticing there was a "blown-up" mock cheque of RM30,000 -- an evidence that the owner, Robert Wong has a charity heart.

Wait a minute !! On second thought, if one scrutinised the cheque, I could not help thinking it as "fake" (just look at the cheque number, "Rich Club", etc). Is this just a gimmick to console the customers that part of the profit he is making goes to charity?? Perhaps!

Our bill came to RM98 plus. Although the roast pork taste good, I am not sure it is worth every ringgit. But one thing is sure -- the plates are really clean, and Lim surely had a hearty meal....


It is definitely a rather expensive meal!!! I don't think I will go back to this outlet (Wong Kee), at least for a short duration.

And, I would probably stick to my regular Roast Pork from Puteri Mart, at least for a while.

Fish Head Trail - F4 USJ

Just running out of ideas what to post here. Then, I thought why not start to write on the fish head makan trail, which I have been enjoying. Furthermore, just last week Dr Tan invited me for lunch at this place, but we changed the destination when I told him that I've been on numerous occasions.

The F4 Fish Head in USJ was introduced by my sis-in-law some years ago. When I first got here many, many years ago, I never imagine a restaurant here, hidden in the middle of an industrial area. But, another discovery is there's a Badminton Court here as well!Business is still good here, which proves an important point that when your food is at reasonable prices, you will have a good crowd and regulars are coming back!

So, what's good here? Been here many times, but I have not try everything in their Menu. The following are the few dishes that I have normally eaten with my family members, colleagues and friends

The dish on the left is is steamed fish head with ginger (keong yung).

Very yummy, I like this the best, and without fail will order this every time we eat here.

Here is another version of the steamed fish head, i.e. "cheong ching" or fermented soyabeans with little chilli. This is spicy, but a bit salty. I still prefer the "keong yung" style.

The dish on the left is quite nice too. It is one of the F4's signature dish - homemade tofu braised with angled loofah (si kua). The tofu is very smooth and the silky sauce adds sweetness to the vegetable.

This pork knuckle was something we ordered during the Chinese new year, as it has a meaning on "wang choi chau sau" or $$ luck is just around the corner!!


The other two dishes below are additional dishes that complement the overall dinner, depending on the number of people. You can try the hakka dish braised "kau yoke" and also the F4 specially made fried taufu.

For A Satisfying Work Life...

The journey of working life to me is much like preparing for a journey. If I know where I want to go, I will plan the best route to arrive there quickly and safely. My career is where I have spent most of my life, and there are uphill and downhill (less!!) journeys over the years. But, I have been lucky enough to find a career that suits me, fit my passion and of course utilises my skills.

Making a good career choice is tough but the decision depends on asking myself some questions - and of course - being honest about them. Today, marks a very important day as it has been exactly three months that I left MPOC - the place that I thought would retire at.

You see we may plan our career as such, but at some point in our lives, I feel that there are something which are already planned for you (fated, I mean).

As "Fate" provides me the opportunity, it also provides a platform for me to ask myself some questions very honestly:

1. Am I earning what I believe I deserve? - Yes
2. Am I satisfied with what I'm doing now? - Probably not, too little maybe.
3. What do I feel passionate about? -Doing my job perfectly well, with no regrets
4. Is there anything substantial stopping me from moving/advancing further? - Of course, my gratuity!
5. What could make me happier? - Doing something different with more responsibilities

So, with those honest answers, I follow the "Fate". And that leads me to where I am today.

The moral of the story...

There is no Right or Wrong route in a journey. Your friends may say that you have taken a wrong route. How wrong they are!

The journey is decided by us, whether it is a short or long route, who cares as long as the journey itself is a good experience, a memorable one and a journey that we enjoy. Remember, if we are 'tired' or 'lost', just stop at any "R&R" or ask for advice, and keep continue the JOURNEY.........

Defiant, Disrespectful and Rebellious Teen

I just came across an article about defiant teens – defined as children that have no respect for authority and mainly disrespect their parents. Defiant teens, angry teens and rebellious teens can affect the entire family.

How true! Well, this is timely and real, as I and my elder sister is facing such person. I am sure my sister will find herself wondering what she did to deserve such treatment from her only girl!

I have deep thoughts about what happened at home 2-3 weeks ago, and after letting the anger subsides, I became rational and thought we ought to save this ‘little girl’ lost in the jungle, and trying to wriggle her way out!

Before that, I want my sis to realise that she’s not the only one out there having to face such a situation. Many families are experiencing this and many are still wondering “why”

Stop the wondering – that’s the 1st step! It is sad that the little young girl is very confrontational, but who is not when they are in their teens. Teenage years are a crucial part of growing up. At this stage, they love to explore things and when they are not permitted to do what they wanted, they will rebel
I remember, I was….and at that time, I also felt the same way, but perhaps lesser degree.

Here are some points I think we need to ponder on ourselves:

Too Strict Rules

When under the stern control of older folks, she will resent and rebel. It would be best if she be given chance to take part in making the rules and agree to the consequences that go with it. Just keep an eagle eyes over her!

Unreasonable punishment

She may not be given the chance to speak out and explain her side, and feels unfair. .

She wants attention
She feels nobody cares about her; none care to compliment her. In this desperate situation, she would do something to catch the attention, including poking herself with those needles.

Peer Pressure
Actually, this is the one I’m most afraid of. She may felt out of place when she wouldn't do what others were doing. She wants to belong to a group of friends, and is often guided by whom she gets along.

Can I make a suggestion to do something right now? I should stop “boycotting” her. Whether she is remorseful or not, I think she’s making an effort to made up. We must try to give her advice instead of being too hard on her. We must give considerations for some mistakes and give her chance to do the right thing with proper guidance.

No point putting the blames. No point nagging or scolding, because if these methods are ineffective, such flare would not have risen.

But, if we are kind enough to open up communication, kind and understanding in dealing with teens, I think we have taken a step to mould a young teenager into a good person.

Why not, try giving a room of her own and have some confidence on her to be a responsible young lady. Give a chance to decorate her room so that she’s proud to show to her friends?

Should we all take this FIRST effort…..PLEASSSSSSEEEE

A Sad Moment

At about 3.30 am this morning, I received an SMS that my 2nd uncle has passed on. Though I was sad, my Buddhist mind leads me to think that he has good karma to passed on this way. I just can't bear to see him entering the next phase of suffering in the days ahead like any other cancer patients.

When I visited him at the UKM Hospital on 5 July, I was prepared to see a very sick man just like someone I knew (see this blog http://ce5nt.blogspot.com/). But, fortunately, he looks fine and in my mind, I knew it was his karma and all the good deeds that he may have done when he's capable.

I really admire this self-made man. He has worked very hard all his life, and whatever fortune he has accumulated, it was all from his sheer hard long hours and much sweat. The kids should be very proud of him and indebted because he made sure that they have good education, a very comfortable house to live in, and any other dreams that any kids would dream off.

But, in April last year, the nice world seemed to have "crumble" down for the family when he discovered he had lung cancer. But in October 2008, he looks just fine when he came to my parents house during my father's birthday celebration.  I had the opportunity to just snap two photos of him, which I believe are the last two I have.

Like any C patients, he had to go thru the usual path, but more painful would definitely his immediate family members, particularly his wife. 

Such episode in anyone's life always send a strong message to me. It was urge me to look at another perspective of life, when I'm down.  "Always treasure our life and live it the fullest". Whatever small quarrels we had, whatever misunderstanding we had, whatever discontentment we had, we have to let them go....There's a lot of people who wanted to live their lives happily, but they didn't have the chance to do so.

So, I must appreciate all my family members whenever I have them. I must appreciate my journey of life, and live every moments of the path...

May he Rest in Peace...

May all suffering ends...

And May we ALL be well and happy

Journey to Rawang in Search of Black Tilapia

We finally set foot to Rawang in search of the Lan Che (sis Lan) Steamed Black Tilapia. So much has been publicised and we finally why not give it a try.


So, leaving SJ at about 4 something, we cruise along the NKVE and exit Rawang Tol. After tol, at T-junction, turn right, and following the road straight ahead. We have to pass Lafarge, APMC, and after Sek Men Taman Garing (something like that) on the left, we have to look out for the trafic light up the slope (on Left). Just following the road ahead, one has to pass by Shell, Petronas and BHP on the left. The restoran is just opposite of BHP.


Here are some photos that explain our food hunt in Rawang. Not bad for RM 149 for 9 pax. Dinner comprise of 5 steamed tilapia, 1 kung po cuttlefish, 1 vegetable, 1 deep fried prawn and 1 chicken ball (koo loh yook).













Now you see how the fish is GONE !!!





And how clean other plates are!!