虾一碗 (Prawn One Bowl)

The English Name is just a literal translation of my good friend's stall. hahaha.. Anyway, he's a good pal of me and had just started this business a few months back. His stall is at Chinatown Complex. If you happen to go there (its a bit hectic there so you may need to follow my instructions below), do visit him.

Instructions to get to his stall -
From the main escalator (which they have only one), go up the escalator and immediately turn right. Walk a few steps to the first junction, turn left and walk straight down and you should see his stall on your right hand side.

More Huattt Ahhh!!!

Last night went for the Qin Gong Yan Dinner at Ling Zhi restaurant with my Lion Dance pals... Just a movie here to show th occasion....


More Yu Sheng Fun.. from leejiing on Vimeo.

Kia Suism... Singapore style.

I still don't get it. I went shooting on 9th of Jan with my colleagues and was shocked to find long queues at the MRT stations (both at Vivo and later Bedok). Apparently its the first day of the replacement of the new Ezlink card. I thought the exercise is suppose to last till Sept 2009 and even if you missed it. The card can still be refunded with the amount within the 12 year period. So its pure Singapore Kia Suism (scared to loose out to the crowd) at play here.

Another bad encounter was at a restaurant recently which serves bread FOC (think most of you will know which restaurant I'm refering too lah) Some spoilt teenagers brats took a whole basket but never finish it up. Pure Kia Su and being greedy and inconsiderate of loosing out by taking for the sake of taking.

Should send these brats to Burma and Africa and let them see how people are starving. And to those who always waste food and have leftovers. If you get a chance to read this blog. Look at the picture below and wake up. Can't finish that much, just tell the server to give you less. STOP WASTING!



The picture above is taken by Kevin Carter. Who committed suicide 3 months after he took this photo. But apparently due to his financial issue. Nobody really knows the fate of that kid in the photo.

Some desert from Japan

Mum and Sis returned late last night and bought some goodies. This is the killer "Mua Chee" I've tasted when I last went to Japan. I've been talking about to my friends about this stuff and I can't really remember what is it. Luckily mum discovered it in Kyoto.
It is a Kyoto product and its not really Mua Chee lah. More like a soft jelly taken from roots of a tree. The killer is the brown powder you see in the packaging. Its black bean powder. The packaging is very nice so mum bought a few back... hehehe.. Open up and you see some advertising stuff, 2 plastic toothpicks (very chio leh) and 2 packets of powder plus the jello itself. The saleslady told my mum and sis cannot put in fridge and have to eat it within the week. So after taking the photo, we proceed to devour the stuff.
So mum cut the jello stuff and we poured the powder (that's why mistaken as Mua Chee). Its much sweeter and more rigid then the version I ate in Tokyo. So a bit disappointed. But then mum and sis recalled they tried the same thing in Japan and not like that leh. Then finally discovered the size of the jello we cut were too large! By making smaller cubes, suddenly everything change liao. Wat lau power!! The jelly is sweet but the powder is not. By cutting smaller, the cubes get more powder and is less sweet. The fragrance of the powder became prominent and smaller jelly makes it melt in your mouth (no need to chew at all). All right man!! In heaven liao.... hahahaha

Happy Chef Western Food

Another food review .... hehehe.. This one is Western food at Lavendar. The actual address is Blk 466 Crawford Court (near Lavendar MRT). The Bah Chor Mee beside it is also very famous (Hill Street Bah Chor Mee). Portion is big (see picture) and well marinated. I had the chicken cutlet and they used black pepper to marinate the crust. (can see the black pepper all over the crust). The other interesting item they offer is the chicken roll. Which basically a piece of chicken stuff with ham and cheese. (Will be trying that next time.) Overall 4/5 stars.

Werners Revisited

Today Mum and Sis flew off to Osaka liao.. So want to have a good dinner to start my 10 days alone in the house... hehe. Met up with my cousin to dine at Werner again. Just went last week with a friend to have a Oktoberfest Sausage platter. Today want to try the pork knuckle (see pic). Taste good but really heavy. The skin is really crispy but the meat a bit gamey leh. (Pork just don't taste as good as Thailand's). Cousin ordered a combi platter of smoked sausage and pork chop. Sausage is great but the pork taste a bit salty...

Ordered a brezel as a starter and a beer too. (See the tall glass in the picture) Imported German Paulaner beer leh. (bloody one glass cost a meal) Talked about having too much food. :P Overall not bad lah... but a bit damaging with the price. 3.7/5 for the knuckle.

Restaurant is located at Upper East Coast Road near Siglap Centre, (beside NTUC).

O'brian Irish Triple Decker Sandwich

I like a good sandwich. Passed by Citi-link today and sat down to have a sandwich at O'brian Cafe. Since still on diet, ordered the non-cheese version of the triple decker and a bottle of mango juice to wash it down. Yum Yum. Do try the Toasted Cheese version.. even more mouth watering. 4/5 stars for the sandwiches.

Aje BIG(Gargantuan) Cola

Remember this?? Well nothing compared to the granddaddy of the Aje Cola shown in the picture. (I deliberately put the normal 1.25 liter as a comparison). I saw this at a MaMa shop and was compelled by the size. Hehehe. I swear I never seen a bottle so huge in my life. Even my wife is shocked by it. I've seen the 3 liters beer bottle and they are huge and make of glass. This one is plastic. And if you are asking, I am not going to drink it alone of course. (I not that Ding Dong or Xiao). Most probably will serve it to my guest during my baby's birthday on the 18th.

Anyway, you should be able to see the price on the bottle. 40Baht!!!

Aje BIG Cola

Normally I try to avoid or recommend soda water. (I seldom drinks them as they are not very healthy). But just this once for exception. Its called AJE Big Cola and it comes in bottles of 535ml. Think you could only find this here in Thailand. The local Coke tastes like sugar water (much too sweet). Pepsi is ok but more expensive. This bottle cost 10baht nia (SG 43 cents). Beat that!!!

Sorry for the lousy photo, took this on my built in web cam...

Last Golden Pizza.

If you have read this previous post. You will know about the Golden Pizza here in Maesai. Anyway, sad news is that the guy is closing the business and plan to move to Chiang Mai or even go back to Iceland. He is a really talented pizza cook I will say. But I guess demand for pizza in Maesai is still low compared to bigger cities.

Some updates on family. Wify's younger brother is getting married. Nah ma, they marry early here, he's only 19! So wify and baby is going to KengTung for the ceremony. I am forced to stay behind as my 2 month visa is non-multiple entry. Turbine, they have all the fun while I stay at home and guard the house.

So guess my blog will have more entries this few days.

Ka Nom

Ka Nom is the thai word (classifier) for desert, sweets and snacks. Normally they are sweet. The range of Ka Nom is huge as both bread and cakes are also classified as Ka Nom. (whereas some city folks will used still used the English word cake for cakes)

Today I am going to show and tell this Ka Nom known as Sai Mai. Not really know what it means as wify can only tell me its name. I have tried this a few times but since writing about me playing games can be boring for some. So decide to stick to food which interests most of my buddies :).

Sai Mai is quite an interesting Ka Nom. It comes in 2 parts as you see in the picture. One packet is the sweet sugarcane floss. (something like candy floss) While the other is actually or Poh Pia skin we eat in Singapore. You eat it by taking some floss, put it on the Poh Pia skin , wrap it up and put the whole thing in your mouth. The texture of crispy, melting sugar cane floss and the chewy skin is quite interesting.

The vendor sells this normally on a bicycle with a box at the rear end of the bike. I forgot to bring my camera as the stall itself is quite interesting. The box actually is a game. It is a simple electronic device under a wooden box. The display has a arrow pointing at various numbers. Its like a slot machine which you put coins (1 baht per play) and the arrow will turn with music (electronic of course) , once the music stops, you will be rewarded with the number of Sai Mai Poh Pia skins that the arrow points. The lowest number is 1 and highest is 5. So its like our Ti Kam in Singapore hehe. Of course, you could just skip the game and buy 5 baht or 10 baht directly. Which is better as 10 baht contains 15 pieces. As you should have guessed, the number of "1"s in the box is proportionally larger than 2 or 5.

Carl's Jr Burger

I am suppose to write this last night but was very tried and managed to complete the NSP post. So have to delay this last piece of food recommendation in Singapore before flying off at 6am. I heard about the Carl's Jr burger chain setting up in Singapore and decided to give it a try before I leave. They don't have good burgers in Maesai yet and the nearest Mac or BK is in Chiang Mai. Anyway, friend ordered a Western Double burger while I get the Super Star. We took the combo set which includes a side and free flow drink.

The burger is quite huge in Aisan standard. Not bad but the price tag is a bit high. Sad to say the burgers tasted much like BK's burger. My Super Star basically is a Double Whopper with Cheese while my friend's Western is basically a Extra large Double Bacon. The burgers are so so. Meat not as fresh as the Super Burger I tried at Vivo so have to give a 2.7 stars out of 5. Suppose to be 3 but the price a bit high.

The sides are interesting though. The combo is suppose to give a normal fires but you could top up a few cents for something different. I chose Criscross fries which tasted quite good while my friend took the onion rings. I highly recommend the onion rings which are really made of real onions (unlike the BK's onion flour rings). 4 out of 5 for the rings alone. The free flow drinks are interesting too. Besides the usual fare of soft drinks. They serve non- sugar ice tea which you could add syrup and lemon slices on your own. Which is really a fantastic idea. I like Teo-O kosong peng and thats what I get.

After finishing our meal then we realised that there is a smaller verison for every burger, na ma.. Overeat liao. So we actually paid extra for an additional piece of meat. Moreover, they were introducing a mushroom burger which looks mightly interesting but we have no more stomach room for it... maybe someone can try that and post its findings.

Overall feeling of Carl's Jr is like an upgraded and more expensive BK. I do like its idea of the free flow drinks and its onion rings. But still, nothing exceptionally special. Overall 3.5 out of 5 stars. Will eat again but not too soon. REALLY quite heavy meal and not recommended for those consious about their weight.

More FOOD!!

Promised a friend to write more about food here in Singapore. He already tried the Charcoal Fry Prawn Noodle and loved it. :P So today, I went down to Chinatown to develop some photos. While waiting for the prints, I cross over to the market beside Chinatown point and went upstairs to look for one of my fav western food stall. Hey! Its still there! Here's the image of the food store.

Their specialty is actually their pasta, especially those with seafood one. But I used to order the pork chop which is quite nice too. I ordered the Spaghetti Vongole (white clams in wine sauce). Its really quite good for the price $4.50 for a plate. The taste is something like Pastamania but at half the price. Feel free to ask for more Parmesan cheese at no extra cost. The pork chop is nice too. They sliced it thin and the meat is tender. Not like what the other stalls are doing. I did not order the pork chop as I was still a bit full.

I would give 3.5 out of 5 stars for the spaghetti.

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I really like Chinese New Year period as my mum will start to bake new year goodies :P Yum yum. Her best is still Pineapple tarts. No fight as she has been doing it for years and perfected the art. Nothing I eat outside compares a fraction to hers. I am NOT joking. You can only get to taste them if you visit my house(NOT for SALE. PRICELESS!). But I already reserved my lot... hahaha . And this is also the main reason I started jogging again. My weight sure increase 2 kilos if I stuff myself with my mum's pastries and do nothing about it.

Stars? hehe.. * out of 5. No way to rate as much much over the 5 rating. :P

Food Fest.

Since I have not came back to Singapore for quite sometime. I already planned to have a day or two food fest for my own indulgence. hehe. Since today my mum is busy with shopping and making new year pastries, I decided its a good time to proceed with my plan.

In the afternoon. I went down to Katong Shopping Centre Food Court(at the basement) to have a bowl of Yong Tau Fu. Its the one at the corner of the food court. The fish soup and chicken rice beside it are great too. So is the western. But today I really want to eat the Yong Tau Fu as Maesai doesn't have it. The choices available are plenty. If you are there, try the fried Tau Kua and the Chili Yong Tau Fu. Very fresh and they fry the Tau Fu or other fried items again before serving you. Thus, very crispy. Price is a bit high but its very very good. Even better than the Ampang Yong Tau Fu. Another good reason to try is the sweet sauce and chili sauce. Their sweet sauce got put sesame seed in it and its purple in colour (traditional). So hard to find them these days.

My ratings 3.8 out of 5 stars

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In the evening, meet up with my food buddy to eat Hokkien Mee at Geylang Lor 21A. This one special as its fried with charcoal. Long waiting time but definitely worth the wait. The noodle is not too wet and dry. Just nice and the taste is magnificent due to pork lard and the soup base. The prawns and sotong are very fresh too. I am happy with it but my buddy did mentioned the chili is not as powderful

Ratings 4 out of 5 stars

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After our meal, we went for a walk around the neighbourhood at Geylang. Lots of interesting "sights". hehe. So after some walking to aid digestion. We went for supper at Lor 8 Mongkok Dim Sum. Its located at the corner of the street. They are famous for its Siew Mai and Har Kao. Most of the items are $3.00 but the quality and taste is there. I have been to HK to eat and this place offer quite authentic HK style Dim Sum. The Scallop Soup Dumpling is also quite nice. Good place to sit, relax, eat and chit chat. Not to mention sight seeing. hehe.

No pictures as too busy eating and sight seeing. Ratings is also 4 out of 5 stars

Myanmar Trip Log - Day 2 and 3

Day 2

We woke up at 530am and washed up. Proceed to check out but the lady in charge is still sleeping! hehe.. no one is around and the gates are locked. I knocked and shouted at the front door of the office until the lady appeared and unlock the gates for us. We took off on the motorcycle.

The sky was still dark and its freezing cold! The sun was actually dawning and it gives an eerie overlook on the landscape. Wife and baby is still sleeping but woke up when they hear our bike approaching. Xinhui seems to enjoy the cold weather very much.

We dressed up nicer and walked to the temple. There were many children and there were playing at the front of the temple. I took a few photos while wife talked to her friends. Convoys of truck, bikes and tractors approach the temple at various timings. Often with loud gongs and cymbals (like our yew keng). Its the first day of the 7 day praying session and these people come from different villages around KengTung. They brought along blankets and food to set up their resting place in the temple. We are lucky as the temple is just next door. So we could just walk back to sleep. We spend most of the time looking around and greeting people. Wife is showing off our cute Xinhui to all her friends and distant relatives. There were many makeshift stalls infront of thr temple selling food and toys. We ate our breakfast (eggs and some fried kuay teow) there before heading home to rest a bit.

In the afternoon, the temperature is much more manageable at 28 degrees. Wife and baby headed back to bath while I join the procession to the river. Not much to see actually. Took some pictures and headed back to rest and have lunch. Bloody hell, Nom Jing Bah Tu again. Sianz.

At night, the family were making Kao Put (rice and wheat hammered into a paste). Its an interesting process. Glutinous rice is steamed and put into a pound er, some black colour wheat like seeds are then thrown in and they start to bash the thingie up into a paste. Salt is added to add flavour but the seeds are the one that gives its distinctive taste and smell. (Very fragrant)

We took the finish product and cut then into small thin slices (like pancakes). Then before they eat it, they grilled it on charcoal. Makes it very crispy and taste fantastically good. Especially the salty ones. At night, we went to the temple and sat in front of our makeshift straw tent (which is for the monk to sleep). Grill Kow Put and drink hot tea. Quite enjoyable in the cold weather.

Day 3
Today its a big day as wife will pray today. So we took the offerings and went to the temple and they have these makeshift baskets that you put the offerings in them. Basically most of the offerings are candies and money (small changes). After that, we approached the abbot (i think lah) and donated some money. Then comes the procession. The monks will gather and the devotees will form a line, waiting for the monks to pass by to put money into their bowls. Quite a funny scene actually as people gathered and aggressively tried to reach the monk's bowl before they come in front of them. Just like our aunties here in Singapore, Kia Su..

Lunch time, we ate some food prepared by the temple. Taste really good and got meat leh!! Haha. I thought vegetarian for all but it seems only the monks need to be vegetarian.

In the early evening, we took her stepfather bike to his farm to have dinner. Her stepfather and mum went ahead earlier on bicycles to feed their pigs. They killed a chicken(they caught it by stunning it with a catapult!) and cooked soup with it. Wife and I went down to the market to change more money and on the way, grab some Coke and tidbits. They actually have home made potato chips!! Selling them in small little plastic bags. Cost is 50 Kyats (1.4baht) freaking cheap. We munched on the while we wait for the food to be ready. The chicken was delicious. At night, we went to the temple again and chatted a bit before heading back home to sleep.

Wedding..

Wife's friend got a wedding cum house Bai Bai (pray for good fortune) ceremony last Sat. We went to attend the lunch and skipped the morning Bai Bai. Unlike our Chinese customs, they normally don't wait for all the people to come before they start the meal. What they do is they will be an usher that will squeeze the guests to a table, once the table is filled up, they will serve the food. So my wife called her friends to meet at the same time (all seat together more fun mah) and we prepared one red packet to drop it into a little box at the entrance. Some people gave big photo frames of the Thai royal family or other novelties instead of money.

The meal itself is quite interesting and delicious, 8 person to a table (like our Chinese Chiak Toh) . Got a cold dish appetizer, steam fish in chili, pig's trot, fried rice, chicken herbal soup, stir fried nuts and chicken, mushrooms with asparagus and a plate of fruits. Quite funny thing is that they served all the dish at one go(except the fruit)! Bloody hell, nearly got no room for all the dishes. Anyway, we finish the meal at 1plus and wify chatted with her friends till 2 plus before we left. Other people were still drinking alcohol and singing Karaoke when we left. Not sure how long they will stay... most probably when the liquor is finished. Here some photos. of the event.

Golden Pizza!

Food here in Maesai is quite repetitive and lack variety (small town). Anyway, a new pizza restaurant has opened and its called Golden Pizza. My Internet Cafe boss said its very good and the taste and crust is actually comparable to a real Italian pizza(He's an American Italian heritage). I was a bit sceptic as Asians tends to change the taste to suite their style. Anyway, since wify not around and I lazy to cook, ordered one large Mexican Thin Crust today through phone (They even do delivery to my house leh) and waited a bloody hour for it. Finally arrived in a box. See picture below.

Its huge, I actually wanted to save some for later but end up eating the whole thing by myself. Wat lau. Best pizza I had eaten. Much better than pizza hut or pastamania in Singapore. I think the chef learnt it from someone who really knows hot to cook a pizza. Damage 280Baht for the large one(15"). Cheap and tasty.

Nom Jing Bah Tu

This is a dish my wife loves to eat. See picture above.
Basically, Nom Jing stands for Chinese noodles. Bah Tu , is Mackerel (I think).

How you eat is simple, you grab some vegetables, normally lettuce or cabbage. Then you grab some fish and noodle, wrap or roll them all up in the vegetable, dip the chili sauce and munch in. Very easy dish to prepare as most of the stuff is raw, except the fish is deep fried.

The chili is the most important part for the dish as usual in Thai cuisine. Normally shallots, garlic and onions and some roots of a vegetable (must ask my wife on that root thingie) are pan fried and later pounded into a sauce.

My wife really likes to eat this... quite healthy actually but after some time, you might get sick of it (me sianz liao)... :P

By the way, can see where's the baby in the photo?? kekeke