malaysian food affair - part three
day nine| sunday
my family and i visited an old friend of my family - my babysitter from when i was really young. she has taken care of me for several years and i consider her as someone dear. i haven't seen her for so long and it was quite awkward at first but it felt familiar again in no time at all. it was a lot of catching up and she cooked us a simple and great lunch. very home-y. i think the highlight of the lunch was the rice that was cooked in tumeric, spices and a lot more stuff (i left it to my mom to get the recipe so i can get it from her in turn. lol) our lunch looked like this:
yummy yummy rice!
i had dinner plans with my childhood church friends and it was awesome seeing them again after the last time since five years ago. we met at bangsar shopping center (bsc), more specifically the pressroom. i will share my experience in a coming entry. interesting though, my friends thought i haven't changed much from the last time they saw me and one of them said it didn't take him long to recognize me when i bumped into him at church that morning. i wonder if no change means it's a positive or negative thing....
on a personal note, that night i thought about a lot of things. about me returning to the states in about two weeks time and it affected me somewhat. i think it had to do with being back with my family again after such a long time. as i said i almost forgot the comfort and home-y-ness of being with my fam after being away for so long. and on top of that, a lot of my friends are here as well. thinking about leaving in less than two weeks brought tears to my eyes. i think i was being too comfortable not going back to malaysia . the last time i returned to united states from malaysia which was almost four years ago, the first few months was hard on me emotionally. and in the back of my head, i know the same scenario would repeat itself. it would be a rollercoaster ride of emotions when i leave to fly back to the states. so i was reluctant to have myself going through that. i am not gonna lie, the 27 hour flight doesn't really help either. but after this trip, i realize i do want to be back more often and will want to make an effort to return every year to see my fam. and friends <3
day ten| monday
this week was gonna be meeting my friends' week.
lunch was at a coffee shop near paramount - similar to a food court for the famous fish fillet noodle soup which was amazingly good. i liked the simple flavors of the overall dish, allowing me to taste the natural sweetness of the fish. besides that, i had beef noodles which was very disappointing and the flavors of herbs in the soup was overpowering the dish and the noodles did not absorb any flavors of the soup. the positive point of the dish was that the meat was not overcooked.
i had a date with my two friends at klcc - one from my foundation program - nad and another i met on a group trip to new york - hisyam. catching up with them felt nice. :) since hisyam knew that i was on a food mission to eat malaysian cuisines, he decided on having dinner at little penang cafe. they decorated the restaurant with a malaysian theme in mind and somehow it reminds me somewhat like a modern kampung house (kinda contradicting myself here huh).
i ordered char kuey teow which is supposed to be a signature dish here and could possibly take up to 20 minutes to be served. hisyam ordered their nasi lemak, nad with her lobak (no, not carrot although lobak means carrot in malay) and both nad and i ordered cendol each.
surprise surprise! my dish came before theirs which i found was somewhat funny since i expected my dish to arrive last. hehe. i thought my dish was alright - not great but not bad. hisyam had the same opinion about his nasi lemak but nad raved about her lobak (which is translated to five spice meat roll). cendol was a disappointment however, it being way too sweet for my liking. the prices were reasonable considering it was in klcc and each entree was priced at RM9.80 each while nad's lobak was at RM8.
as if my huge dinner at klcc wasn't enough, my bro-in-law bought me some food for supper since i was at my sis's place for the night. he asked me earlier that evening what are some of the foods that i have not eaten and i told him he didn't need to get me anything. instead, he didn't get one but three items that i mentioned in my long list of cravings: grilled chicken wings, hokkien noodles and satay! supper is so bad for me but i can't help it! yum :)
day eleven| tuesday
i reserved this as family day since i knew my nieces would be visiting. i was up till 3am in the morning making full use of the wifi at my sister's place the night before and so i was very much sleepy and tired. my dad, as usual (he's a secret foodie at heart... so is my mom) bought me a ton of food for my breakfast enjoyment. here are some of the deliciousness : chee cheong fun and shrimp dumplings (shui kao)
i napped after my huge breakfast (i attribute that to either food coma or lack of sleep the night before lol) to only wake up 3 hours later in time for lunch: pan mee. my personal preference is noodles in soup, served with anchovies and shitake mushrooms and the soup was savory with the very slight crunch of fried anchovies and the dough-y-ness of the noodles - delish!
durian was one of the top foods on my cravings' list. it was important for me to get some of the lovely fruit in my tummy since the only ones i get in the US are either frozen or in chip form. they don't call it the king of fruit without reason. hidden in a hardy and thorny exterior, the fruits are creamy and yummy-in-my-tummy goodness with the light bitterness and a slightly sweet end note with each bite.
i ain't gonna lie - i know a ton of people who despises the fruit with passion (mostly non south-east-asians and a few locals from personal experience) because of the strong pungent smell. they even nickname it the stink bomb but i consider that it adds to my enjoyment of eating it. my dad have somewhat a hard time to get huge ones since durian was not in season yet and apparently the pahang durian was close at the start of the season. my dad (being as awesome as he is) managed to get some the yummy creaminess that i craved. i had to say the fruit on those seeds were rather little so it wasn't the best durians around town but it was enough to make me very happy.
other things that my dad from the night market was putu mayam, a southern indian dish. it is enjoyed by eating noodles ( made from rice flour and water) with brown sugar and grated coconut. i wonder how they came up with such a pairing but it is oh so good.
dinner was home made but this time it was really special. my mom reserved a box of yee sang so i could have a chance to 'lou sang' with the family. instead of using the normal raw fish, my dad bought a generous amount of jellyfish and my oh my, it had an authentic taste although it came in a box from a grocery store, on sale. then the rest of the meal consists of home made lobak, assam fish, herbal soup, three yolk steamed egg (consist of century egg, salted egg and regular eggs) as well as a cabbage cooked in tumeric indian style. oh did i mention we also had herbal soup? it almost looked like a cny dinner. lol. my dinner was mostly the yee sang (i think i had half of the plate), some rice with a few bites of steamed egg (love love love) and one bite of the other dishes since there wasn't any more tummy space.
day twelve| wednesday
the morning i spent was mostly napping - for some reason i was really tired. my parents and i went for teo chew porridge for lunch. the dishes we ordered tasted home made but the highlight of the dish was probably pickled vegetables (which is simmered for long hours to get such flavors) and tofu in dark sauce. porridge aka congee is really good for such warm weathers.
then we headed towards atria for the famous penang rojak buah, a huge huge favorite of mine. the vendor sells his fantastic rojak buah in front of a food court on his motorbike . his fruit rojak typically consists of slices of cucumber, jicama, pineapple, young papaya (usually has crunch), young mango (sour-ish), water convolvulus, bean sprout and topped with some crackers. the dressing that is served with it is a mixture of water, shrimp paste, sugar, chilli and lime juice. it is thick which ensures that the dressing coats each bite-sized fruit completely. it's sour, it's savory, it's sweet, it's shrimpy, it's got different textures and flavors in a single dish and it's awesomeness on a plate. it is still definitely one of the best rojaks i've ever had.
i asked my parents if they were interested in going to the curve in damansara to which they agreed to go. we sadly had only about an hour to spend there before we had to head home to avoid the mad traffic from rush hour. our hour was spent window shopping around curve then heading to ikea for their ever famous curry puffs (RM1) and refillable coffee/cappucino/tea (RM2) that was surprisingly good. the curry puffs have been a favorite of mine because the crust is flaky and the taste of the filling has just enough spice and has a nice surprise in each one: slice of the hard boiled egg. addicting!
dinner was with friends from my american foundation program: hadi, fu and acap. it was fun hanging out with them once more. we went to section 13 shah alam to meet up with acap for some satay which was actually scrumptious - flavored well and had the right amount of fat in it. these guys are such funny dudes but obviously could not help but tease me the whole time. apparently my spoken malay is rusty and i look more chinese (uhh... okay...thought i've always looked very chinese lol) even though things may feel somewhat familiar, it also felt different...like we drifted apart a lil bit. maybe i've changed...but nonetheless i had a really great time catching up with them.
i've got more food stories to cover in my coming entries. i have a malacca trip planned this weekend with fam.. can't wait! :D
disclaimer this is written based on my personal experience and opinion. experiences and taste buds may vary for others
on a personal note, that night i thought about a lot of things. about me returning to the states in about two weeks time and it affected me somewhat. i think it had to do with being back with my family again after such a long time. as i said i almost forgot the comfort and home-y-ness of being with my fam after being away for so long. and on top of that, a lot of my friends are here as well. thinking about leaving in less than two weeks brought tears to my eyes. i think i was being too comfortable not going back to malaysia . the last time i returned to united states from malaysia which was almost four years ago, the first few months was hard on me emotionally. and in the back of my head, i know the same scenario would repeat itself. it would be a rollercoaster ride of emotions when i leave to fly back to the states. so i was reluctant to have myself going through that. i am not gonna lie, the 27 hour flight doesn't really help either. but after this trip, i realize i do want to be back more often and will want to make an effort to return every year to see my fam. and friends <3
day ten| monday
this week was gonna be meeting my friends' week.
lunch was at a coffee shop near paramount - similar to a food court for the famous fish fillet noodle soup which was amazingly good. i liked the simple flavors of the overall dish, allowing me to taste the natural sweetness of the fish. besides that, i had beef noodles which was very disappointing and the flavors of herbs in the soup was overpowering the dish and the noodles did not absorb any flavors of the soup. the positive point of the dish was that the meat was not overcooked.
i had a date with my two friends at klcc - one from my foundation program - nad and another i met on a group trip to new york - hisyam. catching up with them felt nice. :) since hisyam knew that i was on a food mission to eat malaysian cuisines, he decided on having dinner at little penang cafe. they decorated the restaurant with a malaysian theme in mind and somehow it reminds me somewhat like a modern kampung house (kinda contradicting myself here huh).
i ordered char kuey teow which is supposed to be a signature dish here and could possibly take up to 20 minutes to be served. hisyam ordered their nasi lemak, nad with her lobak (no, not carrot although lobak means carrot in malay) and both nad and i ordered cendol each.
surprise surprise! my dish came before theirs which i found was somewhat funny since i expected my dish to arrive last. hehe. i thought my dish was alright - not great but not bad. hisyam had the same opinion about his nasi lemak but nad raved about her lobak (which is translated to five spice meat roll). cendol was a disappointment however, it being way too sweet for my liking. the prices were reasonable considering it was in klcc and each entree was priced at RM9.80 each while nad's lobak was at RM8.
as if my huge dinner at klcc wasn't enough, my bro-in-law bought me some food for supper since i was at my sis's place for the night. he asked me earlier that evening what are some of the foods that i have not eaten and i told him he didn't need to get me anything. instead, he didn't get one but three items that i mentioned in my long list of cravings: grilled chicken wings, hokkien noodles and satay! supper is so bad for me but i can't help it! yum :)
day eleven| tuesday
i reserved this as family day since i knew my nieces would be visiting. i was up till 3am in the morning making full use of the wifi at my sister's place the night before and so i was very much sleepy and tired. my dad, as usual (he's a secret foodie at heart... so is my mom) bought me a ton of food for my breakfast enjoyment. here are some of the deliciousness : chee cheong fun and shrimp dumplings (shui kao)
i napped after my huge breakfast (i attribute that to either food coma or lack of sleep the night before lol) to only wake up 3 hours later in time for lunch: pan mee. my personal preference is noodles in soup, served with anchovies and shitake mushrooms and the soup was savory with the very slight crunch of fried anchovies and the dough-y-ness of the noodles - delish!
durian was one of the top foods on my cravings' list. it was important for me to get some of the lovely fruit in my tummy since the only ones i get in the US are either frozen or in chip form. they don't call it the king of fruit without reason. hidden in a hardy and thorny exterior, the fruits are creamy and yummy-in-my-tummy goodness with the light bitterness and a slightly sweet end note with each bite.
i ain't gonna lie - i know a ton of people who despises the fruit with passion (mostly non south-east-asians and a few locals from personal experience) because of the strong pungent smell. they even nickname it the stink bomb but i consider that it adds to my enjoyment of eating it. my dad have somewhat a hard time to get huge ones since durian was not in season yet and apparently the pahang durian was close at the start of the season. my dad (being as awesome as he is) managed to get some the yummy creaminess that i craved. i had to say the fruit on those seeds were rather little so it wasn't the best durians around town but it was enough to make me very happy.
other things that my dad from the night market was putu mayam, a southern indian dish. it is enjoyed by eating noodles ( made from rice flour and water) with brown sugar and grated coconut. i wonder how they came up with such a pairing but it is oh so good.
dinner was home made but this time it was really special. my mom reserved a box of yee sang so i could have a chance to 'lou sang' with the family. instead of using the normal raw fish, my dad bought a generous amount of jellyfish and my oh my, it had an authentic taste although it came in a box from a grocery store, on sale. then the rest of the meal consists of home made lobak, assam fish, herbal soup, three yolk steamed egg (consist of century egg, salted egg and regular eggs) as well as a cabbage cooked in tumeric indian style. oh did i mention we also had herbal soup? it almost looked like a cny dinner. lol. my dinner was mostly the yee sang (i think i had half of the plate), some rice with a few bites of steamed egg (love love love) and one bite of the other dishes since there wasn't any more tummy space.
day twelve| wednesday
the morning i spent was mostly napping - for some reason i was really tired. my parents and i went for teo chew porridge for lunch. the dishes we ordered tasted home made but the highlight of the dish was probably pickled vegetables (which is simmered for long hours to get such flavors) and tofu in dark sauce. porridge aka congee is really good for such warm weathers.
then we headed towards atria for the famous penang rojak buah, a huge huge favorite of mine. the vendor sells his fantastic rojak buah in front of a food court on his motorbike . his fruit rojak typically consists of slices of cucumber, jicama, pineapple, young papaya (usually has crunch), young mango (sour-ish), water convolvulus, bean sprout and topped with some crackers. the dressing that is served with it is a mixture of water, shrimp paste, sugar, chilli and lime juice. it is thick which ensures that the dressing coats each bite-sized fruit completely. it's sour, it's savory, it's sweet, it's shrimpy, it's got different textures and flavors in a single dish and it's awesomeness on a plate. it is still definitely one of the best rojaks i've ever had.
i asked my parents if they were interested in going to the curve in damansara to which they agreed to go. we sadly had only about an hour to spend there before we had to head home to avoid the mad traffic from rush hour. our hour was spent window shopping around curve then heading to ikea for their ever famous curry puffs (RM1) and refillable coffee/cappucino/tea (RM2) that was surprisingly good. the curry puffs have been a favorite of mine because the crust is flaky and the taste of the filling has just enough spice and has a nice surprise in each one: slice of the hard boiled egg. addicting!
dinner was with friends from my american foundation program: hadi, fu and acap. it was fun hanging out with them once more. we went to section 13 shah alam to meet up with acap for some satay which was actually scrumptious - flavored well and had the right amount of fat in it. these guys are such funny dudes but obviously could not help but tease me the whole time. apparently my spoken malay is rusty and i look more chinese (uhh... okay...thought i've always looked very chinese lol) even though things may feel somewhat familiar, it also felt different...like we drifted apart a lil bit. maybe i've changed...but nonetheless i had a really great time catching up with them.
i've got more food stories to cover in my coming entries. i have a malacca trip planned this weekend with fam.. can't wait! :D
disclaimer this is written based on my personal experience and opinion. experiences and taste buds may vary for others
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