Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Big Big Pau in Selandar, Melaka

While Superhero W was away holidaying in his hometown, Sabah, Superhero S decided to fly back home to Malacca. As my Superhero Mum is a super outgoing mummy, she would always organize little little trips here and there with her gal pals for makan-ing sessions. So you see, the makan-ing habit in us is purely genetic! Haha. :p

So on one fine day, Superhero Mum decided to bring my Superhero Bro, myself and two of her close friends to this place called Selandar, somewhere in Malacca. To be honest, despite having spent most of my entire life in Malacca, I've never known the existence of one such place before this trip took place. It's actually the hometown of one of my Superhero Mum's gal pals who came along for the trip.



A galaxy far, far away from KL or even Malacca town itself, Selandar is in fact a very small town near Jasin if I'm not mistaken. You see, I seldom travel beyond the town area! Haha. This little town is, according to my Superhero Mum's friend, very famous for their Big Big Paus or Tai Pau. Haha. As it has been years since I last downed a tai pau, this is of course very good news for me! *grins* Nyam nyam...




Situated somewhere in this really tiny and peaceful town is this rather old-looking coffee shop. Superhero Mum and her gal pals started approaching the shop in a hunt for their much-loved, tai paus!



And the tai paus arrived!
OH, just look at these beauties...! So fluffy and steaming hot.



Yeah, baby yeah! Superhero Mum couldn't resist trying to bounce her fingers off one of the tai paus. Haha.



Now, you can drool...



One bite and it's truly heavenly. Very juicy and it's packed with so much porky that makes you so wanna scream, "OMG!". This is the thing I love about the foodie in small towns. They tend to be very generous with their ingredients and guess how much is this beautiful tai pau? Only RM2...! *jumping happily*



And believe it or not, my Superhero Mum and her gal pals totally sapu-ed every single choi pau (vegetarian pau priced at RM1) and most of the tai paus sold here in this shop! They started taking orders from their other gal pals before the journey even began and at the end of the day, all of us went back happily with close to 50 paus in my Superhero Bro's car. OMG.

Just 30-45 minutes drive from Malacca town, it's really refreshing indeed to see the countryside in Malacca. The journey there takes us past the Durian Tunggal dam, oil palm plantations left and right and a whole lot of durian and rambutan trees. Amazing...

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Uncle Lim's at Sunway Pyramid

A couple of weeks back, the two superheroes found themselves flying over to Sunway Pyramid. Since the big renovation of the mall and the highways began a long time ago, we've actually not been there again. And this is actually the first time we're in the Pyramid since the new wing opened. I must say, it's not bad indeed...! Haha. I think we're starting to likey likey this place again... :p



For every place we go, of course there will be a makan-ing session as always. Haha. And so, we decided to head over to Uncle Lim's for a light brunch, or so we initially thought. Located near the entrance of the Pyramid, no prizes for guessing why we opted for this 'kopitiam'. Being lazy superheroes, we couldn't bear to walk through the entire Pyramid to hunt for foodie and hence, settled for the nearest! Haha. *grins*




We've tried Uncle Lim's before this, and this is just a revisiting since Superhero W has not tried this outlet before. I have always found Uncle Lim's to be a better option that the now-horrible, Old Town Kopitiam. Yuck!

And so, for our light brunch, Superhero W decided to order his favourite Nasi Lemak...



...while Superhero S went for her ultimate favourite, their super big bowl Porridge. *wink wink*



The portion is still as big as ever. Unlike the disgusting Old Town. Superhero W's Nasi Lemak tasted really delicious, with a generous serving of sambal and a big piece of rendang chicken. And of course there's the usual culprits - fried anchovies and peanuts, cucumber slices and a boiled egg, halved. I could really see Superhero W enjoying his big plate of nasi lemak this time around, as compared to the very pathetic Nasi Lemak at Old Town. For RM7.90, it's pretty worth it!

As for Superhero S' big bowl of Porridge, it's still as good as ever. Topped with some yau char kwai, this makes a truly satisfying meal. The serving is actually big enough for two, and with lots of chicky bits inside, I wouldn't mind forking out RM7.90 for this baby. Haha. :p



And we figure, since we're in a 'kopitiam' already, sure must order some half-boiled eggs ritey? Haha. And so we did!




Their half-boiled eggs turned out really beautifully done. Perfect, I would say. Not too cooked, not too raw. OH, just look at the bright yellow! *drooling...* Haha. Simply irresistible!



For drinks, one Iced Milo for Superhero W and Iced Barley for Superhero S... :p



After downing all the delicious foodie, this is seriously not a light brunch! Haha. I'd say, the standards here still maintained, and we surely wouldn't mind coming back here again... and again! But if we were to return to Sunway Pyramid in search of more foodie, I suppose we should try out something else because I know that this mall is also a land of good food, just like the Curve! :p

Thursday, July 24, 2008

Stirfried Spicy Kangkung with Dried Shrimps

As Superhero W has flown all the way back to his hometown in Sabah, Superhero S is left all alone for a week to fend for herself. *sigh* Lonely... I am so lonely... 'cos I have nobody... *sob sob* :(

However, despite being lonely and for the fact that it's only now that she realizes how much fun and entertainment Superhero W has actually brought to her life every day, she has decided to dig up her archive of photos that have yet to make it onto our blog, to write a post about Superhero W's favourite vegetable dish.



Stirfried spicy kangkung with dried shrimps is in fact possibly one of the simplest dishes to cook. I mean, any vegetable dish is simple to cook, no? Haha. Since we were lacking of the oh-so-essential belacan, this means no Kangkung Belacan. But still, perhaps we could just try imitating a little bit of the belacan taste for our spicy kangkung here. The magic ingredient? Just add dried shrimps loh... *grins*

As I actually prepared this dish in Malacca, Superhero Mum actually has this mortar and pestle tool at home for grinding and pounding purposes. So for a touch of authenticity, I decided to use that to crush the dried shrimps beyond recognition (muahahahaha....). As for the sambal, I always have my special home-made sambal paste at hand. Finely chop some garlic and you're ready to go!


my special sambal paste... *wink*


Heat up the oil and throw in the garlic. Once it's fragrant, throw in the pounded dried shrimps and stir fry for a little while before you move in with the sambal. Just a small spoonful of the sambal should do the trick. Finally, throw in the kangkung and stir-fry. Salt to taste, and you're ready to serve.

Simple but very appetising! *drooling...*

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Restaurant Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. at The Curve

The two superheroes headed off to Mutiara Damansara and found themselves in The Curve for a scrumptious lunch on a beautiful weekend. Since we were basically pretty much spoilt for choice in this land of good food, we were so tempted to try out every single restaurant as we don't really come by this place often! Haha.





Eventually, we settled for this really outstanding (name-wise and decor-wise) restaurant situated just adjacent to Waroeng Penyet, the famous Indonesian food outlet previously blogged by KY. I mean, who can resist a restaurant that goes by the name, "Bubba Gump Shrimp"?? Haha. In fact, I've actually seen a review of this place on tv some time ago! Must be good... :p



And it sure is! The entire restaurant is actually based on this really really famous movie in the early 90s, Forrest Gump starring Tom Hanks as the title character. Superhero S is a true blue fan of this movie and she has actually watched it over and over again countless times! So beautifully crafted and filled with such terrific acting and storyline, it's no wonder Forrest Gump has inspired this superb international restaurant chain to sprout across the world!



Once inside the restaurant, you'd really feel like you've stepped into a different world altogether. The tweaky wood flooring, the extensive decor is reminiscent to a country house much like Forrest's from the movie itself. You can see all sorts of familiar dialogue from the movie at every corner just like this one here...



Very very cosy and homely indeed, and we find ourselves really drawn to the fabulous decorating and great ambiance in the restaurant...





If you're a fan of Forrest Gump just like we are, the entire experience feels almost like dining in a Forrest Gump museum! Haha. Very very interesting!



But best of all, we have to show you this really cute 'car plate' that is placed on every table. Since we've never been to Bubba Gump, the super friendly waiter took the time to really explain to us the culture over at Bubba Gump. Flag a "Run Forrest Run" if you don't need any attention from the waiters there...



And yes, as you could've guessed, just flip the car plate to "Stop Forrest Stop" and a waiter's attention will be called to your table. But as we weren't exactly lunching during the normal lunch hour, there weren't many tables occupied and we actually had the same super friendly waiter waiting our table. Such great service! Similar to our lovely experience over at Tony Roma's.





As we flipped through the menu, we realized that the menu is pretty simple really. Nothing extensive and most items veer towards shrimp base. Superhero W opted for Mama's Southern Fried Chicken while Superhero S went for Salmon and Vegetable Skillet. No shrimps. Haha. Sounds a little ridiculous but we actually chose not to go for shrimps in a restaurant that serves shrimps as their specialty. Blame it on allergy... Haha. *blushing*



For drinks, here's my two-thumbs up, "Run Forrest Run" (priced at RM10.90). Yes, how could I NOT order a drink with such a significant name??? Haha. This non-alchoholic smoothie is absolutely yummy, a lovely concoction of fresh oranges, strawberries, bananas and non-fat raspberry frozen yogurt. Quite a mouthful but I love it, love it, LOVE IT! The same cannot be said of Superhero W's reaction towards the drink though. He finds that it tasted more like cough syrup. *ahem*



While waiting for our foodie to arrive, the waiter served us two big glasses of cold drink as we continued admiring everything on the table, including this really interesting bucket containing this one cute ping pong bat. If you can remember, Forrest Gump is good in ping pong. Haha. :p



Superhero W's Mama's Southern Fried Chicken (priced at RM27.90) arrived first. Super big serving... My god. Just look at the 'almost' overflowing mashed potatoes!



Ridiculously delicious, with the big big fried chicky served with such awesome crisp and flavour. Tastes even better than colonel's recipe! And the mashed potatoes and its accompanying sauce is fabulous and goes really well with the chicky. Definitely will go for this again the next time.



As for Superhero S' Salmon and Vegetable Skillet (priced at RM35.90), I've never tasted salmon this good! No kidding. Very big portion, both the salmon and the rice. And the rice is absolutely wonderful! Loved the taste to the max, a little sourish and salty. Yummy... Again, this is another must order!


All in all, we find this place really really good, as a simple lunch outing somehow turned out to be a lunch that's truly memorable in every way. Oh, you can even catch the movie, Forrest Gump here in this restaurant as this tv will keep playing this movie over and over again! :p



The bill came at RM85, inclusive of tax and service charges but the experience as I would say... is priceless. True to Forrest's infamous phrase, "Mama always said life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're gonna get".

Friday, July 18, 2008

Super Double Cheese Beef Burger Wrapped in Egg

Haha. NO... that is not the latest McDonald's burger. In fact, this burger would definitely beat any double cheese burgers anywhere -- hands down! :p

The two superheroes decided to go Western today with a little experiment in making some home-made burgers. Well, not exactly burgers this time around because we actually couldn't find any of those burger breads in Tesco the last time we went grocery shopping. Must've ran out of stock. Haha. And so, we decided to go ahead with our trusted wholemeal Pita bread as its replacement! Wholemeal okay... don't play play. *wink wink*



For the burger patty, there can only be one name that we put our trust on. What else other than the infamous Ramly burger patties?! Haha. Oh yeah...



Taking inspirations from the now-defunct Burger Taman Desa as how we used to call our burger stall right in front of Superhero S' condo that sells the best burgers around, Superhero S decided to re-create the recipe. Haha. Well, the secret to his super delicious burger is actually in the use of... *ahem*... Maggi seasoning and curry powder! :p

And so, using a non-stick pan (finally!!! I don't have to struggle with the wok for this!), I fried my beef patties with some light sprinkles of the Maggi seasoning and some curry powder as well. Not too much, just a little should do the trick. Haha. And here goes... 4 patties for the two of us!



I'm actually going to do the patty wrapped in egg style a la Burger Daging Special since I wanted to stay true to the recipe. I also cut some fresh cabbages into thin slices to complement the "burger". For the double cheese effect, simply just add 2 slices of cheese in between the patties which should have already been wrapped in egg by now.

And... voila!



2 beef patties specially cooked with all the seasoning, wrapped in egg plus 2 slices of cheese, some cabbage and of course, the must-have Life Chilli Sauce -- all sandwiched between one piece of hot wholemeal pita bread cut into halves! So... what do you think?? Haha. Quite a mouthful, ain't it? :p


OH! Look at the melted cheese...!


omg


One word to describe it.
.
.
.

SUPERB!
The aroma from the seasoning and curry powder is absolutely fantastic and they truly complement the beef patties well. The hot pita bread was also a much better option than normal burger breads. Glad Tesco actually ran out of stock for those burger breads.



We also actually calculated the cost for each burger, and guess what? It barely even came up to RM2 for each of our super double cheese burgers wrapped in egg! So big and yet so cheap! Superhero W couldn't even put the entire "burger" into his mouth initially because it was probably the largest burger both of us have ever eaten in our lives! And once the whole pita burger sets in your stomach, you can skip dinner altogether already! Haha.

Thursday, July 17, 2008

Restoran Segambut Yu Ai at Kuchai Lama

After several back-to-back posts on our home-cooking marathon, we figure that perhaps it's time to take a break and start eating out again! Haha. And so, just a few days back, the two superheroes along with their two superhero buddies, Eugene and Valerie got together for an occasion and so happened to find themselves in the Kuchai Lama area.



As we were driving around the Kuchai Entrepreneur's Park, Eugene spotted a somewhat familiar name on a signage that reads, "Restoran Segambut Yu Ai". He started getting all excited and went on to explain to the both of us superheroes that Segambut is famous for a certain noodle delicacy, and so exclaimed that this could probably be a branch of that one popular outlet there. So, for the fact that we know we could never get ourselves to fly all the way to Segambut for the original stall, this Kuchai Lama outlet immediately sounded very very enticing indeed...! *starts drooling...!*




Hence, we found ourselves a parking in this notoriously congested business area that often plays host to many triple parking vehicles alongside its narrow road. As it was late in the afternoon and way past lunch time, the restaurant was not really crowded with customers. Its wallpaper showcases many newspaper articles about the restaurant which could only mean that the foodie here must be good! :p

A quick glance at the very simple menu suggests that this restaurant must be very famous for its seafood as there's seafood in all five items on the menu. Yes, there are only 5 possible foodie that you can order here! Which goes to show that this must be a very specialized restaurant. Now we're beginning to get really interested...



And so, Superhero W ordered their Curry Noodles, Superhero S with her Soupy Noodles, while Eugene and Valerie went for Tom Yam Noodles and Dried Noodles. As we weren't exactly hungry, we went for "small" orders. Soon after, the foodie started making its way to our table...




OMG. OMG. OMG.
Yes, those three word expressions best sums up our facial expressions and reactions considerably. What was thought to have been a "small" order came out in this relatively large bowl of noodles with SO MUCH SEAFOOD swimming inside! Arghhh.........................



Here, let me see... there's a whole lot of prawns, XL oysters, slices of fishys, cuttlefish and clams all in Superhero W's big big bowl of Curry Noodles! And best of all, the curry base is exceptionally good! Not too spicy and very very thick indeed, complete with this really strong concoction of all the seafood taste. OMG. Fantastic! And this for only RM15. Judging from the amount of seafood swimming inside and the extra thick and flavourful curry, it's very worth it!



Superhero S' Soupy Noodles was also delightfully delicious with many ingredients such as crabsticks, bouncy bouncy fish balls, fish cakes, tau ke (fried bean curd with fish paste filling) and seaweed! And I absolutely love the soup... At only RM6, I'd say that this bowl of hot soupy noodles is a great deal. *grins*



We managed to take a sip out of Valerie's Tom Yam (priced at RM15) which was also laden with a ridiculous amount of seafood, and found the tom yam soup to be extremely thick and flavourful as well! We couldn't really judge if you'll be spitting out fire or not once you've downed the entire bowl but from that one sip, it was okay really. Not too spicy, just perfect actually! :p



Inclusive of drinks, this heavenly meal costs us close to RM50 for four. But seriously, nothing beats downing hot soupy noodles on a cold, cold raining day. This heck of a discovery really made our day! Haha. Will definitely be back again!