Tom Yam Fried Rice, Sunshine Market Food Court, Penang

This tom yam fried rice is one of the most preferred by many. It’s rice fried in tom yam paste with egg, and marinated tom yam chicken, topped with with fresh cucumber slices and sprinkles of chopped spring onions.

Tom yam fried rice is MYR 4.50 for a regular one and MYR 5.00 for a big one. Even regular one is quite a big serving. The colour is very nice and rice is perfectly flavoured.

The chicken cubes seems to be marinated in prior before being cooked. It’s fresh (just look at the flesh), still succulent. The fried rice is served with a generous amount of chicken cubes.

It is overall very satisfying. Not too spicy, flavour is sufficient and serving is not bad too. Simply just yummy!

Besides tom yam fried rice, one of the few regulars I noticed customers order are the normal fried rice and also the pineapple fried rice. I’ll blog about the pineapple fried rice another time. They also has char koay teow and also fried teow chew mee teow. Business is very good, from the moment before I place my order, uncle was already busy frying non stop, until I finished the whole plate of piping hot yummy fried rice, he is still frying and customers went to place their orders non stop too.

Stall is number 89. Auntie has this mole on her forehead ala Nancy Sit Kar Yin, and easy to notice. For lunch, auntie will usually do the cooking… and they are usually opened around 1pm. Evening shift is taken over by the uncle. And somehow, the one fried by uncle has better colour, more appealing, somehow. :P If I’m not mistaken, they are closed on Tuesdays. Anyways, go and try, then let me know your thoughts :D

Stall 89 (Tom Yam Fried Rice)
Sunshine Market Food Court
Bayan Baru 11900,
Penang.

Mocha Almond Fudge Ice Cream with Fresh Strawberries!

Life’s a bliss!

Mocha Almond Fudge from Sunnyside Farms. Taste just as good as Baskin’s Jamoca Almond Fudge, and cheaper too..

Nasi Tomato Taman Seri Damai, Batu Lanchang, Penang

I have been wanting to go try this nasi tomato as I’ve read so many reviews and I also know that business is a brisk and there will be long queue of customers waiting for their turn. Was really curious if it is really that good. So I ajak my bro to go along with me yesterday night. We reached there around 12:30m and we could easily locate the stall as there was already customer queuing up…

So, we went to join in the line and minutes later, another long line behind of us….

Customers happily choosing their dishes… one of the customers took away like 20 packets I think… he was carrying like 2 plastic bags and each bags contains like 8 to 10 packets of nasi tomato… wah… midnight nasi tomato frenzy…

When I reached only halfway, I could see like most of the dishes have been cleared… what’s left are only the gravy… really good business, no joke! And that is like what? Less than an hour they open for business?

Long queue…. everyone waiting patiently for their turn while swallowing their saliva many many times :P

Busy scooping rice for customers and more fragrant fried chicken in the wok! By the time we were leaving, that was around 1.00am, I see no fried chicken anymore… habis….

Few of the dishes without gravy… mostly fried dishes like fried chicken pieces , eggs, chicken necks, fish…

Dishes with different types of gravy… variety of chicken/beef curries and stews , sambal ikan bilis (anchovies), curry prawns, vegetables…. and some of it are only left with gravy…

The dining area… several long tables and metal chairs… and stall selling drinks…

Nasi tomato, with fried chicken,  beef masak kicap, some sambal ikan bilis, and some cucumber slices @ MYR5.20

The rice was very fragrant… you know.. the type that you could just eat  it alone or with gravy only…

The fried chicken was tender, not really flavourful, but somehow pleasant to eat. I guess it’s because the meat was tender and succulent, it was fresh although the flavour was not really absorbed until the inside of the meat (perhaps it’s whole piece of thick lean mean) The chicken drumstick should be more flavoured and taste better…

The beef was okay, thick yummy gravy, meat was not very tender, but the flavour was great. Even the sambal ikan bilis was good..

Drinks…. we ordered 1 milo ice and 2 limau (calamansi) ice @ MYR 3.50. Don’t bother asking for kurang manis(less sweet) cos it’ll still come  manis or super manis…

Malaysians really eat at odd hours… past midnight and it’s like dinner time.. same for like nasi kandar… people eat rice past midnight as if it’s still dinner time… to those who would like to try nasi tomato instead of nasi kandar, this place is a good option… Although I love eating nasi tomato like how I always have it since schooling last time, a normal nasi tomato with ayam masak merah and the kinda pickled cucumber, pineapple and onions.. Here, they actually provides more options of dishes to explore..

The stall is actually inside the compound of this flat called Taman Seri Damai, just next to the Batu Lanchang market.  Be there early, best at midnight and walk towards the queue.

Taman Seri Damai
Lebuhraya Batu Lanchang,
11600 Jelutong,
Penang.

Kek Lapis (Layer Cake) from Holland Bakery, Jakarta

Just noticed that I blogged about my Jakarta trip and missed out this! Kek Lapis is one of Indonesia’s specialty… they have several brands.. but Holland Bakery is one of the top ones… as recommended by Amelia’s(my good childhood friend.. I went to her wedding reception in jakarta.. remember?) in laws… and they even have discount/loyalty card too :D So Parman, their family driver who was so nice and patient driving a bunch of noisy girls around dropped us at one of the Holland bakeries near to their home.

The bakery sells lots of things, just like normal bakeries… cakes, breads, cookies and much more. But they are famous for their kek lapis and kek surabaya.. and they don’t come cheap.. one square cake (9” X 9”) cost around MYR 100 plus minus… and a few different options to choose from.. the original flavour (the one with a hint of cinnamon/spice taste), pandan flavour, chocolate flavour, prunes flavour and I can’t remember all, seriously cos we were like rushing, I can’t even remember the exact price.  But good thing they also sell in smaller blocks (3” X 9”), so you get to buy a few flavors… I bought 3 blocks.. which also equivalent to one big square ones.. each blocks after discount was around MYR30 plus…

And it was near to Chinese New Year, so the box came in CNY theme… great as gifts…. if unopened, it can be kept up to 2 weeks… once opened, it has to be consumed in 3 to 4 days… I refrigerated mine… so it could survive until CNY which was then, only a week away.

You get to request for the separate boxes if you are planning to give as souvenirs/gifts. This is the original flavour one, in which my relatives prefers compared to the pandan ones. Perhaps it’s more authentic.. haha… They said it’s very good…

This is the pandan flavoured… if you are not into spices, you may like this one…

Mom said it’s slightly sweeter though… but it certainly has it’s own fragrant…

All packed nicely in the box and in a nice paper bag. This is the bakery’s logo… very easy to spot… the wind mill…

And these are the lists their branches across Indonesia… and contact numbers.. haha.. I’m not able to find their website.. not even sure if they have any…. but this was from the side of the paper bag..

Hickory BBQ Buffalo Wings and Baked Potatoes with Mixed Herbs

During office potluck the other day, I decided to try something new.. I had so many things in mind… I had previously made sandwiches, garden pasta salad, so I wanted to try something more challenging yet, easy.. haha… So I was at Cold Storage getting ideas.. at first I thought I wanted to try the roast whole chicken… but then again, macam malas la wanna clean chicken :P… I saw the McCormick buffalo wings seasoning… There are 3 different flavours, original, garlic and herb, and hickory bbq (the one I bought).. and all I need is chicken drummets and wings! Cold storage has got nice fresh looking drummets and wings but I did not buy them cos I do not want to keep it an extra day.

So I went to Mydin the next day to get fresh drummets… cleaned the drummets and chucked it in the bag, mix in the seasoning and leave it to marinade for half day… I started grilling the drummets late night, so at least I have fresh drummets and wings to serve the next morning.. :D

Put the wings in the aluminum pan drizzled with some olive oil, and turn it a few times so it can cook evenly. I reckon that it would cook better on baking rack, so the excess oil could drip off …

But it anyhow, did turned out quite well :D Oh yea.. rule of roasting, baking and bbq-ing meat/poultry, the moment your meat is off the heat, cover it with foil and let it rest… that way, it could still preserve the juiciness and the tenderness.

Besides that I made baked potatoes too! Bought few US potatoes and also sweet potatoes.. cut into pieces, marinated with the remaining marinate from the drummets with lots of mixed italian herbs, sprinkled with salt and pepper and off in the oven! And it turned out pretty and delicious too :P

Quite happy with the results… can make it for other potlucks next time :D

My Kimchi Bokumbop

Kimchi bokumbop simply means kimchi fried rice.. Anyways, remember my lefr over kimchi i took away from my last korean meal here. Haha.. I have not done anything to it until yesterday.. I decided to cook kimchi bokumbop… one of the easiest thing to cook with kimchi… got the recipe from here, they have so many korean recipes I wanna try a few of them one day :)

I basically put whatever I have in my fridge, some thinly sliced pork, mini diced carrots, onions, spring onions, shrimps, fresh mushrooms, garlic and of course chopped kimchi!

Everything in the wok and it turns out beautifully.. the colour… the aroma.. simply yum! 

Then I dished is out like how they usually do it… :D

Pretty isn’t it.. hahaha….

And they usually top the rice with a sunny side up…

In which I did…but my sunny side up is just not perfect… when I wanted to dish it out, the yolk kinda pecah and oozes out a little.. cacat only… this, I serve to my bro, my usual defaulted victim! LOL!

Station One, Queensbay Mall, Penang.

This is my first time to Station One although it has been opened for quite some time in QBM, perhaps it was due to not so good comments I’ve heard.

Anyways, was there with a friend and we thought we would just want to try something new than the regulars we always have during visits to QBM for dinner. So we walked passed Station One and he suggested there, so I thought okay.. why not.. since I’ve never tried it also..

The environment wise is just okay.. there are indoors and outdoors, al fresco style.. Anyways, the staffs ahnded us the menu and wow.. the photos looks great.. like so hebat like that… after flipping the menu several times, we placed our order… service was just okay… not many customers yet at that time.. so it’s not that slow..

For drinks, we ordered Yestea @ MYR5.50.. since it’s stated there must try…

Came in a huge jug-like glasses… tasted just like Pokka’s jasmine green tea… being shaken vigorously to create the foam…

So my friend ordered this  special salad fish fillet rice @ MYR 13.90.. the fish fillet look so big hor? the photographer must have done a great job.

His ordered arrived.. looking a bit boring and pale.. but he didn’t complain much about it la.. tasted “ok lo…” he said…

For myself, after considering 2 meals, I decided on this one.. Sensasi Chicken Fried Rice @ MYR14.50. One of the reason is it looks prettier than the kung po chicken… the chicken looks yummy and portion looks not bad hor? Again, kudos to the photographer… One thing with me, if I’m not familiar or new to an eatery, I may order something from the menu, be it with photos or not, if it arrives looking nice and a wrong order, I will eat it anyhow, cos I’m very forgetful. Sometimes after ordering, I cannot recall how my food should look like.

Then mine arrived and I was like… “ha mik lai?”(what is this?) Cos as forgetful as I am, I don’t recall seeing anything like this in the menu. The I checked with the staff what is this fearing that it could be a wrong order…then he came back and said, it’s SHOULD BE “la la la” ok.. the la la part I could not hear him clearly and I also freaking forgot what was the name of my order…

Anyways, I concluded that it’s the correct order cos it’s the only one with this kind of sauce after referring back to the menu.. but then my fried chicken meat actually went to hell ( it’s burnt), escaped and came back… it’s like near to charred, the chicken meat became a bit dry, it does not taste like fresh chicken meat and the portion was definitely not as illustrated. So deceiving lo the menu… the fried rice though was okay but the chicken meat itself and the presentation did not meet my expectation.. it was no where near the menu. Next time I rather walk to the opposite and eat KFC instead…

We ordered Chicken Cheese Pizza too @ MYR18.50

Frankly speaking, I rather go have Dominos, US Pizza or even Pizza hut’s pizza. This is more of like frozen pizza you can get at major supermarkets, chuck in the oven at home on some lazy day. Frozen pizza ingredients are for sure is not fresh and the pizza base itself.. aih.. another disappointment…

Overall, I just felt that this place.. beh khi lo.. (cannot go).. food with this quality, I have to consider it as over priced… With so many outlets across Malaysia.. I believe that the quality of the food should be monitored…

Station One
Queensbay Mall
GF-122 & 121 & GFNZ-CA1 ,
100, Persiaran Bayan Indah,
11900 Bayan Lepas,
Pulau Pinang.
Website here

Ah Chye's Best Rojak, Sungai Dua, Penang

I was on my way home when I remembered a rojak stall I’ve read few floggers blogged about, so I thought I wanted to give it a try… but then I could not locate the stall when I reached and saw another stall instead… so since I’m already there, I might as well try it la…

So I found out that this is Ah Chye’s Best Rojak.

Uncle Ah Chye is a friendly chap…while preparing my order… he story a bit about his rojak business.. he is on mobile, available in Sungai Dua on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, in Paya Terubong on Sundays, then Farlim… urm.. if I remember correctly.. now I think I got confused a little.. hahaha.. anyways, no fret, call him at 012-4235932 to check for his location… :P Anyways, he has another stall in Gurney Drive whereby his wife and daughter is managing.

He has been selling rojak for the past 40 years! All the sauce and ingredients are prepared by him. You can actually buy only the sauce from him as well.

Rojak consist of fresh fruits namely young mango, guava, cucumber, pineapple, ambra, turnips (b/mangkuang), cuttle fish and crispy yau char kwai pieces.

All these are mixed  together with rojak sauce and topped with fragrant crushed peanuts. If you prefer spicier version, he will add in the chili paste for you.

Uncle purposely hung up his signboard up cos I wanted to take photos… haha.. he said he usually will only hang up at night…

The rojak is cost at MYR 3.50, MYR 5.00 and MYR 6.00 respectively.

Look at that… freshly cut fruits  mixed with thick yummy rojak sauce (main ingredient in rojak sauce is prawn paste), topped with generous amount of fragrant crushed peanuts! Uncle even let me take a sniff at his container of freshly toasted and crushed peanuts.. it was indeed really fragrant and played quite a role in his rojak.

Being lazy to mix everything myself, I requested uncle to mix everything up for me.. If you are taking away, staying far and not consuming it there and then, I would suggest that you order for the rojak sauce to be packed separately. Cucumbers especially are very good at producing excess water and it may dilute the rojak sauce.
I reached home with the rojak still looking perfect! No excess water yet.. phew.. Uncle is indeed very generous with the ingredients, rojak sauce and the crispy yau char kwai pieces and of course the crushed peanuts! This is a RM 5.00 pack, and I finished it all up alone! My dinner! and I still have excess thick rojak sauce available by the time I finished.

Ah Chye’s Best Rojak
Mobile Stall & Gurney Drive
012-4235932 / 04-2265932