Uhu! hu!

No, that wasn't me crying.. Read on.

It all start with a small story...

When my dad was on his way to the market early Sat morning, he chanced upon our 8th floor neighbours, these 2 sisters (young & chic kind) and their cousin heading out to hail a cab.

We are pretty close as neighbours- having known one another for around 2o years, so my dad in all his kaypoh-ness friendliness asked of their destination.

"Oh, we're headed for KL (Kuala Lumpur).."

My dad was baffled by that answer for all they carried were their small handbags and nothing else..

"..How many days? How come you don't have any luggage?" (Seriously, my dad can get really nosy sometimes).

"Oh, we'll be coming back in the afternoon..."

"Really..?! How will you get there? By coach?"

"No, we'll be taking a flight there."

My dad being the airport staff that he is, asked about the airport tax and other charges just to go to KL...

"Oh, we paid $60 for a return trip on Air Asia. All included!"

My dad was still wide-eyed even after they've left in the cab...

Anyway, fast forward to that late afternoon and my parents had just alighted from the cab and another cab was behind them. Guess who?

Yeap, the 3 ladies who went to KL that MORNING. My dad was really taken aback to see that they meant their word when they said that they're coming back that afternoon itself.

And more shocked to see that instead of shopping bags, they had with them boxes and boxes of confectionery marked, The Loaf Bakery (check out their website.. and drool!).

They got into a conversation in the lift and my parents were told that those were from the well-known bakery owned by the former M'sian Prime Minister, Dr Mahathir.

That got my mum all excited cos' she's still sore by the fact that I actually forgot to bring my family to dine at the branch in Langkawi even when we actually passed by the location (I really should kick myself for tat)...

Anyway, 1/2 hour later, one of the sisters came knocking and gave my parents 4 of the confectioneries. That was pretty nice of them. They must have felt somewhat embarrassed to have my parents see them with all that goodies and felt obliged to share some.

There were 2 tarts, the cheese (devoured by my mum) and the fruit tart (devoured by my dad). Anyway my mum only remembered to inform me yesterday, that she's left me 2 of the confectioneries and I made no qualms about stopping by there after work.

And I was greeted with these mini Uhu!Hu cheesecakes...! My mum took them out of the fridge when I was having dinner and my the time I was ready to savour them, they have softened nicely.

The mango cheesecake

I can't find this on the website but the taste was distinctively mango. Smooth and definitely creamy.

Pardon the fact that the surface looked rather 'cloggy'. Remember that it's been 2 days since these were given.

The 'Luxurious Chocolate' cheesecake

That name wasn't penned by me. It's listed on the website.

Yeah, like the name, the chocolate fudge was definitely rich, smooth and pretty divine. The chesecake inside was layered and I can't make out the flavours. Maybe coffee-flavoured like Tiramisu..? Honestly I can't figure it out.

Man, I'm so grateful to my parents for keeping these for me. And also to my generous neighbours.

Know what? I might just do something similar like waht they did, with my mum... And the babe? Hmm.. it's only a day trip. Surely no harm done. Hopefully...

Insya-Allah (God willing)....

halo... sori.. in a bit, can??

blogger is soooo screwed up now....

After all that I typed yesterday... I'm back to facing a blank page. How like that?

Doesn't help that I'm becoming less-than-inspired to blog right now. What more about food. In my current state, it seems that foods in general, dun appeal to me much... Like there's hardly any passion as I savour. More like I eat-to-live...

What I have on my mind right now is me experiencing my 1st pregnancy. I don't know if it's a appropriate for me to blog about the goings-on and progress.. I'll have to think about it. It'll be fun, I suppose.

Anyway, here's a pic of my fave snack currently. Wasabi pistachios...
Yeah I know.. Anything with wasabi often fall into my favourites list.

My boss bought a huge pack of these from Meidi-Ya. Batter-coated pistachios dusted with wasabi powder.. The pistachios were decently-sized... well, given that the whole thing was pretty costly...

It's pretty fun to pop these into the mouth, one-by-one quickly just so you can get the high where your eyes tear-up and the sharp, tingling sensation goes straight to the head, till your scalp itches. Oooh, I love that!

Till I blog again..!

chicken II

BBQ Chicken @ Tampines One

Both my cousin and I had the discount coupon and since she had never tried the food here (despite being a chicken lover), we decide to head down to the newly opened branch at Tampines One.

Main Course.

Jerk BBQ

Grilled chicken leg coated with Korean BBQ sauce (made of 20 different seasonings) and red pepper.

One of my cousin ordered this previously and I was curious to try it for myself. The sauce was really flavoursome, the chicken meat tender and juicy and it was grilled till it was charred at the edges.

Comes with sides of fries and green salad.

Korean Charboiled

I'm surprised my cousin opted for this grilled chicken version instead of the fried ones (her fave!).

The chicken leg here is marinated in sauce (made of over 30 secret ingredients) and roasted over charcoal fire and then the earthenware.

I had a try of this and realised that as complicated as the cooking procedure sound, this piece of chicken meat definitely has a stronger taste. But with no hint of a spicy kick, however. Very savoury.

Hot-hot Drum

My cousin who had the Jerk Bbq previously had envied my order of this back then and made it a point to order it this time.

She was disappointed to see that unlike the ones I had previously, there was less sauce this time. Even the drumsticks were not evenly-coated with the sauce. I remember that I used to dip my fries in the excess hot-hot sauce that dripped onto the plate.

The last time I had this, the sauce was so spicy that the burning sensation remain in my belly for over an hour. My cousin agreed that the level of spiciness remained constant.

It came with a side of only a miserable amount of potato salad (which tasted quite nice anyway).

The sides.

Teri-Q Wings

I remember that these had tasted really nice the last time I had it. Marinated with Teriyaki sauce with Korean soybean paste, and coated with glutinous rice powder before being fried.

Reminds me a bit of the chinese Prawn-Paste Chicken dish. Very yummy!

Mashed Potato

Quite a generous portion. The potato tasted more starchy than 'potato-ey' but the sauce was kinda nice.

Nothing can beat Popeye's version, so far.

Dessert.

Pat Bing Soo

When I saw the size of that, boy was I very very glad that there were at least 3 of us then. Quite a big portion.

Shaved ice heaped with some bean powder, azuki red beans, little cubes of mochi (rice cakes), nata de coco, fruit cocktail and topped with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream with cherry. And drizzled with choco fudge with a couple of Lotte choco-almond sticks.

Pretty nice but I can't help reminiscing the one I had at Zingdo. That one had a smaller portion but came with bigger cubes of sesame-coated mochi, cubes of real fruits like kiwi & mango or strawberry etc. if you prefer , cubes of aloe vera and nata de coco, azuki beans with raspberry ripple ice-cream.

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Somehow I think that the portions have been altered and that a couple of the orders that I've had before had been presented in a different manner.

See my previous entry on BBQ chicken at the Cineleisure branch sometime last year.

My order of Teri-Q wings then had a heap of coleslaw on the side. Now the Hot-hot drums has only the potato salad on the side when it had both fries and coleslaw previously.

Is it due to that, over time, they've rationed the sides served with the main course? Or that different branches have different ways...? I sense some inconsistencies here....

We had wanted to use the promotion coupons, where 1 can entitle us to the 20% discount an another which allow us to have either the Teri-Q wings or the Pat Bing Soo for free, with orders above $50.

When asked if we can use both simultaneously, the server (who wore a black top instead of the pink ones of the junior staff), whom I assumed to be the supervisor, made no mention that only 1 coupon can be used. Only upon payment at the counter did the manager tell me that. And he conveniently said that since I had use the coupon for the free Pat Bing Soo, the 20% disc. coupon can't be used.

What if I decide to pay for the Pat Bing Soo instead? And utilise the 20% disc. coupon which may entitle me to more savings? How inconvenient would that have been for them?

But I was too darn full to kick up a fuss. Man, if only I had known better....

But on a positive side, I'm glad I chose to have that dessert for free, instead of the Teri-Q wings - for the dessert would have cost more..!

chicken I

Barcelos Flame Grilled Chicken @ VivoCity

May seem like I've been visiting lotsa' chicken restaurants lately but this one here was from last month... Refer to previous post for an explanation to my tardiness.

This visit was totally unplanned. My parents remarked about wanting to head down to VivoCity without any valid reason. Only when we were wandering amongst the crowd, did my mum mention about trying this place. She had read about it in the papers.

Darn that paper!

We were caught totally off-guard. My bro just had a heavy snack before coming (my mum didn't even remind him to save some room in his belly!), my cousin joined us after a wedding reception and I had lunch at my home before joining them!

Best part was the financial aspect of it. For it's no secret that the food there is pretty pricey.

I wasn't aware of the free-flow drinks, then. The manager who served us didn't even bother to inform us about it despite us wondering aloud in front of her at the counter. So we got canned soft drinks for each when we could have paid only a few cents more for free-flow. This was duly made known to us by the friendly girl who served our food. Sheesh!

Chicken Pasta Meal

My mum saw someone in the next table having this. I have no idea what the dish is called so I just whack it and ordered the one with the word 'pasta'.

Thankfully it's the right one.

I dare not get her anything spicy seeing that her taste buds, with age, had slowly raised their guard against spicy stuff. If she needs more kick, she can use the bottles of peri sauces (of 4 different grades) provided on every table.

Sweet Chilli Cheese Burger

My bro's order. Since he was pretty full, he thought a burger set will be just nice. Who knew that the burger turned out to be so big!

The patty being the grilled thigh meat of the peri chicken, being complemented with the sweet sauce... I love this one. Gonna have it next time.

Chicken, Cheese & Egg Pitta Pocket

My cousin's order. She may be pretty full, having had meals at 2 different wedding receptions but she can never resist good food.

I know she chose this because it had 3 of her fave items - chicken, egg & cheese. The chopped veggies were wasted on her for she scraped half of them onto her plate (she dislike veggies). The egg was a sunny side-up on top of the chicken patty.

Pine & Cheese Burger

I chose this because when I saw the word 'pine', I had imagined roasted pine nuts or even pesto sauce (pine nuts being the main ingredient) inside the burger.

I didn't cross my mind that the word 'pine' is short for PINEAPPLE. And I got just that, the canned variety, no less in between my buns. Which made my bun pretty soggy when it absorbed the juice that dripped onto the plate.

Did you see the visible salt crystals on the fries..? Can you just imagine how salty they were? Especially for me, who have really low-tolerance for salty stuff.

For my dad, I ordered the 1/4 chicken set which comes with a choice of 1 regular side order (I got him the coleslaw- his fave). His order came last and my hands were soiled by the time it arrived, so no pics.

I tried the various sauces that was supplied on every table. The tangy lemon was really sour (in a pretty disturbing way). The mild peri was still pretty sour with no hint of any spiciness. The veri peri reminds me of tobasco sauce with a little extra flavour. Super peri? Well.. it was tasteless.

Maybe it was so spicy that it numbed my tastebuds... I assume.

Now I'm curious about Nandos. Gotta head to Pelangi Plaza in JB to try that.

News

My apologies for the lack in updates in recent months.

I seems that I've been less-than-inspired to blog (despite having the contents), somehow. Ever since I discovered my pregnancy, Alhamdulillah (many praises to Allah) for that; I guess the mojo's somewhat dwindled.

It's been said, that the baby inside the mother's womb can somewhat influence the mother's tastes and actions.

From this, I assume that I can't rely of Lil' Junior here to pursue my passion for blogging. Not that I'm blaming the lil' one here. Maybe my child just want me to have more rest, knowing my penchant for spending hours in front of the screen once I start.

Whether the love for blogging emerge or not, I'm just hoping that my child won't be IT illiterate at least. Knowing enough to get by will do.

Then again, who knows what our current world wide web would have evolved into, by then.

Hmm.. go figure.

food during the b.padang reception

ayam panggang - grilled chicken

Having been to may receptions here, I'm aware of the fact that a chicken dish is a 'must'.

Most common is the 'semur ayam' (chicken cooked in soy sauce) and twice I've had the luxury of encountering the 'ayam goreng bumbu' (deep fried chicken with spices) where there are crunchy crumbs made up of 'kemiri' (candle nuts), 'serai' (lemongrass), ginger, shallots, gallangal and tumeric.

And now, the grilled version, which I totally savour. These free-range chickens were nicely marinated before being put on the fire. I picked out those with the more charred edges on purpose. Mmmmm...!

Now, now.. Don't go on telling me about carcinogens and stuff. I ate these kinds of grilled stuff like once in a blue moon, ok? What's wrong with indulging once in a while...?

sup sayur campur & ayam - clear chicken soup with mix vegetables

It's a simple dish, just chicken soup with leek, potatoes, french beans, carrots and tomatoes. But it taste soo gooood!

With every occasion that happened here, this dish seemed to be a norm. I guess, their use of the free-range chickens really gave the soup a more robust chicken taste.

gulai kambing - goat stew

The hosts of this reception, aside from having their own tofu factory, are also known to rear a decent herd of goats (kambing kacang). It's been said that they had 3 goats slaughtered for this occasion and I very much look forward to the dish that that's made out of their meat.

Not surprisingly, they made the 'gulai' (stew), a dish that I'm extremely fond of, especially since enjoying them in Lombok, not once but twice.

The one prepared here had a gravy with a more thicker consistency most likely due to coconut milk being added, making the dish much reminiscent to the 'rendang'.

I never bat an eye-lid to the people around me and used my hands (after washing) to grab and the ribs and later the shank, finding the little bits of pinkish meat still stuck there.

Oh, fresh goat meat never tasted sooooo good! I told my dad that upon the birth of my child (Insya-Allah), I wanna have the 'kekah' done here and I want that black goat with the shiny fur, which I saw at the enclosure.

condiments - chili to accompany grilled chicken

In the foreground is cut red 'cili padi' (bird's-eye chili), onions and tomato dunked in sweet soy sauce. Ooooh..... Quite lethal on the tongue, this one.

In the background is the 'sambal balado' which is red chili fried in oil with shallots and tomatoes before being grounded into a paste with a squeeze of lime juice. More native to the 'Minang' people.

mendoan sayur - veggie dough fritters

These came out piping hot.. Served as an afternoon tea snack during the reception.

'Mendoans' are usually flat but here, my mum told me that they people in the kitchen had been overzealous with the baking powder so they puffed up into these balls when fried, not unlike the 'Cucur'.

These 'mendoan' come in various forms. There's the one with the 'tempe' , 'tauhu' and mixed vegetables like these - with grated carrots, sometimes 'tauge' (bean sprouts), even corn and cilantro. The locals tend to bite on these alternately with green 'cili padi' but we (Singaporeans) are contented just to be able to dip them into chili sauce.