Old Town White Coffee @ Lagenda Heights, SP

Over the past few months, Lagenda Heights (Sungai Petani) has become a famous spot for youngsters to hang around. Restaurants, coffee shops, Tesco Hypermarket, small complex - Village Mall, hair saloons, SPA & reflexology saloons, and many more shops gathered around in this new area.

It was a sunny Saturday afternoon when we were back in SP. After surveying some accessories and furniture in almost all of the local furniture shops, we decided to find a place to enjoy our afternoon tea. :)

I longed for a cup of "kao kao" ice white coffee, so I pestered him to bring me there. Yes, Old Town White Coffee. There is a new outlet in Lagenda Heights. So far, I can see their business is running quite well here.

Both of us ordered the same drink - the Iced White Coffee. Ahh.....not only refreshing, but it also boost our energy as well. Hehehe... sounds like we are addicted to caffeine?

This round we tried their Ice Fire Polo Bun. Why ice? Why fire? Well, the fire is representing the hot polo bun, and the ice represents the freezing cold thick layer of milky butter. It's a perfect combination. Just a bit guilty to my body of consuming too much fat. Oh, no......... :(

Never forget to order 2 pcs of Kaya & Butter Toast. :P

Nippon Yataimura Japanese Restaurant @ Queensbay Mall

We went to Nippon Yataimura Japanese Restaurant the other day for my hubby's birthday dinner. I heard from my colleague that the food is good, so I suggested to go there for a try. We weren't dissappointed. :)

For starters, we ordered California Temaki and Unagi Temaki. Both are just normal compared to Sushi King and others.

California Temaki & Unagi Temaki

Hubby ordered Chashu & Corn Ramen. It consists of slices of pork, corn, egg in delicious soup base. The serving is quite big and you could just ignore ordering side-dishes.

I ordered Gekikara Ramen, it's hot soup base with seafood. It's been highly recommended by my colleague. He reminded me to order spiciness level 4 (range from 1 to 10). Compared to the Kimuchi Ramen from Japin Restaurant, this is much more tasty. Furthermore, it contains lots of ingredients like Kimchi, squid, baby corns, black wood ear, pork slices and a tempura prawn. Bear in mind, the serving is huge. I can't finish it. A bit regret to order the temaki stuff.

For our dessert, we ordered Macha Parfait, a really big serving of ice-cream, chocolate cake and fruits...we were so full by the time we finished it....but felt very satisfying indeed! :)

Macha Parfait

Updates On Aug 2010: Revisited this place several times in July and August  2010. My favorite is their Pork Mayo Ramen. Not satisfy with their service. Not attentive at all. They can't even borther  to take your order.

New Secret Restaurant 阿南砂煲活田鸡粥

2 weeks ago, hubby and I ran some errands in Butterworth. After that, we drove around that area to hunt for food. Of course, we admit we are not good hunters. We lacked of idea on what to eat, cuz we are not familiar with that area. Furthermore, it was a rainny day. We were not in a good mood to consume heavy meal. Ended up we dropped by this restaurant called New Secret Restaurant 阿南砂煲活田鸡粥. It's located at Jalan Ong Yi How.

Looking at the menu, basically we can choose either claypot field frog porridge, or a plain claypot porridge with either one type of field frog stuff. So, you will not waste much time on the menu.

This is the clay pot porridge. Just plain porridge. To our surprise, it's very smooth and a little bit sticky. It must be cooked under long hours for sure.



Without a veggie dish, the meal is not considered as satisfying. Hence, we ordered a plate of Lettuce with oyster sauce and meat floss. Although it is just a simple dish, but it goes well with porridge.

Between the "kung poh" clay pot and "ginger-spring onion" clay pot, we decided to choose the later - field frog with ginger and spring onion (姜葱田鸡). The meat is fresh, smooth and tender. Hmm...taste wise, although it's no bad, but there's still space for improvement. Hopefully for my next visit, I will be able to taste the difference.

Address: 6172, Ground Floor, Jalan Ong Yi How,
Kawasan Perindustrian Ringan Teras Jaya,
13400 Butterworth.

Tel: 012-4919099, 012-4018117

Simple Steamed Egg Tofu

Steaming is one of my favorite method in preparing food. It's not only a healthy cooking method which less or no oil is used, but it is also the easiest way to prepare a simple home cooked dish. Here is the simple dish that I experimented, and it turned out to be a satisfying outcome.

Ingredients:

1 roll Japanese tofu

(A) Mixed well

150g minced pork
2 caps dried mushroom, soaked, remove stalk, and chopped
1 tbsp of chopped spring onion
1/2 tsp cornflour
1/2 tbsp sesame oil
1.5 tbsp light soy sauce
1/2 tbsp fermented beans, chopped
dashed of pepper

Gravy:

1.5 tbsp oyster sauce
3 tbsp water

Method:

1. Cut tofu into thick round slices.

2. Divide (A) into small balls and place in the centre of the tofu.

3. Pour the gravy on top of the balls.

4. Steam tofu for 10 minutes and serve hot.

New World Park Food Court Again

3 weeks ago after hubby watching "Ho Chiak", he was motivated to try new world park ice kacang again. Previously when we ordered the ice kacang, we didn't ask for the special type with lots of fruits. So we went to have another try at new world park after some window shopping at Mekio.


ABC special ice kacang. "Special" in a sense that there is lots of fruits, like mango, papaya etc. Definitely taste better than the normal one. :)


We also ordered Tee Nya Kuih...taste like "kee chang" to me...we didn't finish it as it is too filling..

While hubby waited for the ice kacang, I went to find some simple delicacies...so I ordered Chee Cheung Fun and yam cake. The chee cheung fun is not as good as the one at Island Glades though, and the yam cake is just average. Nothing compared to my mum's yummy yum cake :P

Pan-Fried Yam Cake

Once in a while, my mom will make her secret recipe yam cake. I have not learnt this up from her yet. Also, I'm not too sure about the ingredients. But after eating them for so long, I think I managed to guess the ingredients. :P It must be a mix of yam cubes, stir fried dried shrimps, shallots, and all sorts of flour mixture. After the batter is ready, it'll be poured into a baking pan for steaming.

When the steamed yam cake is done, mom will devide the cake into 4 portions. My eldest sis, my 2nd sis, and myself will get 1 quarter each, while mom will keep the balance quarter for herself, dad and also my brother's family. So, 4 of the siblings get the equal portion. Happy ending! Well, that's not the end of the story yet. We don't eat our steamed yam cake just like this. There are few more steps to follow before we can enjoy mom's delicacy...

Hmm...I sense that my mom used to spoil me. :-) I'm the youngest daughter, of course la. Normally, I'm the only one who will "win" her special service. She helps me to cut the yam cake into thin slices and arrange nicely in a food container to bring it home.

What I need to do is to pan fry the yam cake till it's fragrant and crispy. My trusty non-stick pan plays an important role here. So, this is what I get. Serve it with chilli sauce, it's superb!

Chicken Thigh In "Chinese Red Wine" 红糟鸡腿

I'm lucky to get one bottle of Hong Zhao from Wai Wai 2 weeks ago. This is the harvest from Elaine's MIL after marinating the Hong Zhao for 2 months. Each time her MIL will just have only 12 bottles for sale. Sorry for other customers cuz I've cut queue. ;P You must be jealous as this special bottle of Hong Zhao and some dry ingredients were dedicated to me for free of charge! Thanks again. Elaine.

Hong Zhao 红糟 aka the Chinese red wine. Main ingredients include glutinous rice, red rice and wine biscuits. According to Elaine, all the ingredients were grounded, mixed and left fermented in a big clay container. When the time's due, the content will be sieved.

Elaine also shared her recipe on how to cook 2 dishes, one is the dry version and another one is the soup version. I tested with the dry version. For the very first time, I experimented it with only one chicken thigh. It was a successful experiment. I fell in love wih its smell and taste. In fact, Hong Zhao is used as main ingredient in confinement food.

Recipe for Chicken Thigh In "Chinese Red Wine" (红糟鸡腿)

Ingredients:

1. 1 chicken thigh, remove skin and fat. Marinate with dry ingredients for 1 hour

2. Ginger slices

3. 1 full tbsp of chopped garlic

4. 2 tbsp of sesame oil

Seasoning:

1. 1 tsp of sugar

2. 1 tbsp of light soya sauce

3. 1 tsp of corn flour diluted in 4 tbsp of water

Method:

1. Heat sesame oil in a wok.

2. Stir fry ginger and garlic till fragrant.

3. Pour in marinated chicken and stir fry for a while.

4. Add 1/3 cup of Hong Zhao and cover the wok for 2-3 minutes or till chicken is cooked.

5. Pour in seasoning and some light soy sauce to taste.

Black Dates & Longan Tea

Black dates and longan tea is a nourishing drink with natural sweetness. When both of the ingredients combined, it’s effective in fighting against anemia and fatigue, and boosting energy levels. Or in other words, they are good in building blood and regenerating Qi.

Black date is rich in iron. It has a pleasant taste and high nutritional value, and is often used to disguise unpalatable prescriptions. It is recognized as valuable medicinal herb.

Dried longan helps to improve blood circulation, improve heart efficiency and reduce stress and tension.

Ingredients:

12 red dates, washed and pitted

10 dried longans, washed

5 cups of water

Method:

1. Boil and simmer ingredients in 5 cups of water for 45 minutes until the liquid is fragrant and tasty.

2. Serve warm.

Nutritious Peanut Soup

Peanuts are a rich source of protein. Its nutritional value is equivalent to meat and egg protein for human growth and health. I like to use it for making soup.

Ingredients:

70 gms raw Shandong peanuts without skin.

70 gms raw peanuts with skin
200g of pork ribs
800ml of water
salt or light soy sauce to taste

Methods:
1. Bring water to boil in a pot. Then pour it to the slow cooker.

2. Put in pork ribs and both type of peanuts. Cook it under automatic mode.

3. Let it simmer for at least 5 hours. Add salt or light soy sauce to taste before serving.

The Manhattan Fish Market

It was one of the working day, when I was lazy to cook our dinner at home. So, we just went out to settle our dinner. As a working young lady, cooking and cleaning up the kitchen sometimes can be a tiring and exhausting. Don't you agree?

As usual, our destination - the Queensbay Mall. This time we decided to give Manhattan Fish Market a try. It's located at the basement of Queensbay Mall. I heard quite a number of positive and negative comments from friends and relatives.

On that day, we saw a lot of tourists from Middle East. Almost half of the restaurant was occupied by them. Maybe they were from the same tour?

Hubby ordered his Tropical Breeze, while I had my Mango juice. Tropical Breeze is a mixture of several fruit juice and diluted in sprite. It is kind of strong taste, and it's too sweet to my liking.

We shared the order of Grilled Gala for 2. On the big plate, there were prawns, squids, fish fillets and mussels. All seafoods were perfectly grilled. It's served with fragrant butter rice and fries.

We were glad that we made the right choice. Grilled seafood tastes more better than the deep fried seafood. It's a healthier cooking method with less oil. We tasted the original freshness. :)The serving is just nice for 2 of us, with some left over rice. Wasting is always a bad habit. :(

The dinner cost us RM70.95. It's a bit pricey.