Steamboat & Tofu @ Hooi Kee Steamboat Restaurant, Bukit Mertajam, Penang

This place sounds like your usual Chinese steamboat restaurant. However, they do have some of their signature dishes which I think was pretty good and worth trying. Depending on the amount of people, you can choose the sets at different prices. One thing worth trying is their 'starter'; deep fried tofu. Really plain, simply tofu but when dipped in their special dip (not sure what's inside but seems like alot of green onions, chilli and, seasoning etc), it was brilliant. 

Deep fried tofu with special, delicious dip

We had the half-half steamboat (half tom yum / half clear soup). They offer some really fresh seafood, meatballs and bean curd (which I really like :). The soup tasted quite perfect; not to bland, not too salty to the point you felt it's loaded with MSG. We also had a plate of their special Teochew fried noodles (I'm not too sure what it is called but there's a picture here I'm sharing); something I've never really eaten before.

Tom yum soup / clear broth 

The simple, yet tasty Teochew fried noodles. Perfect for sharing :)

Overall, this place is worth trying; if you happen to be in Penang mainland. In fact, I've heard of people from the island that drives all the way here for a good steamboat;) A huge shop with many ahjummas (aunties) as servers. Quite efficient as well. 

Address: Tingkat Binjai 12, Taman Sri Rambai, 14000 Bukit Mertajam, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia

Opening hours: 5.30 to 10.30 pm (Close on Mondays)

Chicken rice ball in claypot salted fish & nyonya cuisine @ Jonker Street, Melaka

Chicken rice ball in claypot salted fish

Chicken rice ball is definitely a must-have if you're in Melaka. Of course, the best places to get this would be at Jonker Street. The usual long line-up would be the famous Hoe Kee chicken rice ball. Since it was just too hot for us to line up, we decided to have ours at our regular shop (turn right at the end of Jonker Street, check out picture at the bottom of this post; can't seem to remember the name of the shop ;p). The shop has probably changed management. We liked the chicken from this shop because they offer roasted chicken rather than just the plain steamed chicken which we aren't really fans of. 

Probably half roasted chicken. Super tasty, tender, and well roasted (RM30).

So, this shop tried to be different by having a 'signature' dish which was their chicken rice ball in claypot salted fish…sounds tempting by name. They also offer nyonya dishes; so we decided to have a bit of everything. Our initial idea was to have chicken rice balls with all these dishes but eventually, we were told that the rice balls are only offered for the claypot salted dish. What a rip off (now, we know why there aren't many customers @__@)! Anyways, we settled for the usual chicken rice.

Cincalok fried egg

We had the nyonya famous cincalok (fermented small shrimp/krill) fried egg and sambal belacan kangkong (stir-fry water spinach with spicy Malaysian shrimp paste). Both dishes were pretty good for nyonya standard. However, the cincalok used were not the fresh ones because we saw them grabbing a bottled cincalok from the shop display to fry the egg (mmm….).

Sambal belachan kangkung (not the best but acceptable)

A meal for 4 people (RM90 inc. drinks)

Honestly, the biggest rip off was the chicken rice balls in claypot salted fish which costed us RM 17; too expensive for a single serving meal for lunch! Although it tasted quite good, we as huge fans of salted fish, hardly saw or tasted any salted fish inside. I was expecting some chunks of salted fish but unfortunately, none of us had even a taste of it. Also, in my opinion, I did not like the idea of the rice balls soaking in the claypot stew which made the rice balls soggy. The chilli paste (the important part of chicken rice), however, received thumbs up from everyone in the family. 

Overall, this place is pretty ok for roasted chicken rice but don't expect to get chicken rice balls here. Their nyonya dishes are quite good as well although price might be a little steep since it's a tourist-y area. Forget the claypot dish which was just a waste of money. Stick to the authentic chicken rice balls!

Unfortunately, I forgot about taking the shop's name but here's more or less the location:

Adapted from Google Maps

Afternoon tea in a Mall @ Pastis Cafe & Dining, The Gardens Mall, Kuala Lumpur

A lovely cafe sitting at a quiet corner at The Gardens Mall. This cafe offers quite an extensive menu ranging from local cuisines, Western, desserts, coffee, and best of all, afternoon tea! Panda and I were looking for a place to sit and enjoy a cup of coffee here when I realised they also have afternoon tea set in their menu. We went for that considering it was more worth it plus we had the chance to try a few of their items at the same time. 

The afternoon tea set came as a 3-tiered tea set; with savoury sandwiches, bruschetta and quiche at the bottom tier, followed by scones with cream and jam and finally the sweeter stuff; tiramisu, crème brûlée and a couple of their gourmet chocolates. It also came with 2 cups of coffee/tea. Perfect afternoon tea for a price of RM 54:) It was definitely more worth getting this rather than ala-carte coffee and desserts for each of us.

Coffee with a piece of cookie

I've always enjoyed afternoon teas although I'm not particularly a sweet tooth!

So, there is a way to eat the items on the tiers. You have to start from the bottom which is the savoury tier which usually consists of sandwiches, quiches etc. The second tier commonly is the cafe's scones with jam and cream. I love scones but usually would have been quite full by the time I reach this tier. The top most tier are the sweeter items; and although I'm not much of a sweet tooth, I personally like Pastis' tiramisu. The set is prepared for two however, three people sharing would be just perfect in my opinion (it was a little bit too much for us two as afternoon tea..lols)

Gourmet chocolates

Just come, relax and have a cup of coffee or tea or even to indulge your sweet tooth!

Address: G235-Ground Floor, The Gardens Mall, Kg-02, Lingkaran Syed Putra, 59200 Kuala Lumpur

American-style BBQ Pork ribs @ Morganfield's, Empire Shopping Gallery, Subang

For the love of pork…..well not exactly my no. 1 meat but my buddies recommended this place to meet up since they've heard raving reviews on it. They must be pretty good considering there are already a couple of branches in KL. Also, we were there just in time for the specials which was Buy 1 full ribs and get 1/2 slab ribs free; super good deal I would say. We ordered 2 full ribs (with 2 half slabs ) to be shared between 4 people (which we thought would be quite enough) but turned out to be a huge mistake, because we overestimated our ability to finish it! They are famous for their ribs (hence, the term sticky bones) and mainly 4 flavors to choose from; Hickory BBQ, Smoked Peppercorn (my fave!), Spicy Asian and Garlicky BBQ. You get an option of full ribs (RM 76.90) or half slab (RM46.90). *Just get the full ribs and bring home the rest of the unfinished!

Smoked Peppercorn full spare ribs RM 76.90

Yeap..this was the FREE half slab-We chose the Hickory and Garlicky BBQ. Not just the free ribs, it came with sides as well!

Night out with my ex-colleagues; Soon-to-be-mum Penny and 'old buddy' manager Kwan ;p

It was the last night in KL before I left for Canada again the very next day. We had a great time catching up with them while chowing down on those delicious ribs. If you're looking for the authentic, good old-fashioned BBQ pork ribs, this is definitely the place to be. The ribs were tender, meaty, tasty and delicate enough to have the meat-almost-falling-off-the-bone-when-picked-up effect…(mouth-watering right now). Prices were quite reasonable (even without the free half slab). Ours was definitely worth eating because we had the free halves; although we ended up packing a majority of the ribs back home. Another good option on the menu was their sharing platter that will be perfect for 3-4 people. Great place to hang out as well :))

Address: GK-09 Ground Floor, Empire Shopping Gallery, Subang

Website: Morganfield's

Facebook: Morganfield's

Modernized, trendy burger @ myBurgerLab, Sunway, Selangor

Finally had the chance to try out this place. When I first left for Canada in 2012, these burger joints trend was still in the early stages and right now, they are all mushrooming particularly in KL / Selangor. This I would say, as a higher-class-fast-food joint where their main items are still burger and fries. We met up with a couple of friends at their HQ in Sunway, conveniently located opposite Sunway University College. The place was pretty packed; majority youngsters and young working adults. We had a good spot upstairs and came down to place our order (yup, no menu on the table nor servers to take your order..hence, why I categorize it as fast food). Just to note that the burger bun served are charcoal buns.

Say Cheese-sq beef burger (RM 19.00): A seared patty with double sharp cheddar and sauteed onions

You have to be a huge eater to finish this because Panda was super full after having this (he thought he could manage a double patty burger). Perhaps because we had a side of fries, if not, I think it's still manageable;p.

Chicken Swisstake (RM 15.50): Grilled chicken with swiss cheese, shitake and enoki mushrooms and their special sauce

This was mine! A Japanese-Western fusion burger. The grilled chicken was really juicy, tender and fresh and super super huge. It must be the thickest chicken patty I've ever eaten! I liked it because it didn't give you the greasy feeling like the ol' American burgers although I had some helping of fries as well!

(L)The Geisha (RM 16.00): Fried chicken sesame sauce topped with wakame seaweed, jap cucumber and sharp cheddar; M: The awesome spicy mayonnaise; R: Spicy Hawaiian Chicken with spicy red sauce, pineapple rings, and swiss cheese

The Geisha honestly, looked good (I mean the burger). With that huge fried chicken patty, this will definitely be the next burger on my list. Another Japanese-Western fusion burger which was just brilliant! The fries went awfully good with the spicy mayo (refillable upon request), a version quite close to the spicy mayo in Nando's. 

We had a good time catching up and is definitely a place I will visit again. Prices were quite reasonable for KL standard:) Just lets hope, they maintain their standard. 

Address:

SeaPark Outlet: 14, Jalan 21/22, SeaPark, 46300 Petaling Jaya, Selangor.
OUG Outlet: 8, Jalan Awan Hijau, Taman OUG, 58200 Kuala Lumpur.
Sunway Outlet: 3, Jalan PJS 11/9, Bandar Sunway, 46150 Petaling Jaya, Selangor

Opening hours: Tues-Sunday (5pm to 10.15pm)

Website: myBurgerLab

Best dim sum in Melaka but overly-priced @ Zhong Hua Dim Sum Restaurant, Melaka Raya, Melaka

Finally, proper shrimp dumplings in Melaka! I've been staying in Melaka my whole life and every dim sum shop I've been to had no '100 %' shrimp dumplings, unlike those I often ate in Klang or USJ. When my family discovered this shop, I was quite excited to try it out so my mum and I headed there during my short break in Malaysia. It was a weekday, so no crowds at all and parking was quite easy although please remember to pay the parking ticket beforehand as this area is prone for officers going around with fines for illegal parking! So, like any other dim sum place I've been too, weekdays are usually order-to-steam unlike weekends where servers go round with the pushing cart. One word to describe, very, very disorganized (I was told the boss was not around so everyone was messy!). Anyways, when we finally got our orders, the first thing spotted was the price/plate which I felt was outrageous for a restaurant in Melaka. 

From L to R: Various type of shrimp dumplings (Har Gau, Har Mai, Har Kuin). Overcharged at more than RM 6 / plate 

From L to R: Radish cake, Fish paste, Siew mai (pork dumpling). Some of the slightly more reasonably priced items

Shrimp Chee Cheong Fun (Rice noodle rolls). Another overly-priced item. Nothing spectacular.

Nice-looking liu sha bao (salted egg custard cream bun with flowing filling). A must-try!

Pretty good liu sha bao but not well-steamed. R: Not well-steamed so there was no flowing cream :(

Overall, they really need to improve on their service because, there were like only 4 tables eating and they couldn't do a proper job! The usual siu mai / har gau was pretty good and up to standard but for the price, I totally disagree. Perhaps because they know there aren't much competition for good dim sum in Melaka, so they daringly charge the customers..what more a tourist-y area. For all the ones in the picture and a pot of tea, I paid more than RM 60 ( I'm pretty sure the lady got the wrong calculation so make sure you check your bill before leaving!).

Address: No 186, 187, Jalan Melaka Raya, 75000 Melaka (corner shop beside CIMB bank)
Opening hours: 7am - 2pm

Nyonya kuih @ Baba Charlie's Nyonya Cake, Tengkera, Melaka

Probably, every Nyonya in Melaka would know of this place or at least who Baba Charlie is. I remembered my mum used to get our regular Nyonya food from him at the night market. Anyway, this place is probably not very easy to find unless you are a local. They have however done a good job of putting an obvious sign at the entrance of the alley (yes alley, a small alley which can be easily missed). Look for Tranquerah Mosque and directly opposite, there will be an alley leading to a few houses inside. Walk in or drive into the alley, and you will see this place. 

Ahjummas (ladies) working on the nyonya delicacies.

You can really get practically all Nyonya and Melaka local delights here

I need to say this though. A majority of the items here are made with some form of sweet coconut. So, you've got to like coconut to like these delicacies. It's easy to get carried away with the wide variety of kuih, so make sure you know what you are buying in the first place. Prices are surprisingly quite reasonable as I thought they would have hiked up the price considering majority of their customers are probably tourists.

Hard time choosing what we want. They looked so tempting!

Some family favourite! Pulut tekan (Steamed glutinous rice with kaya, coconut egg jam)

Colorful..colorful...

Absolutely good place to bring a tourist here!

Our nyonya kuih 'haul' ;p

Kuih ketayap (sweet coconut stuffed pancake roll) and ondeh-ondeh (coconut dumplings)

Overall, this is a wonderful place to bring your guest to experience what Nyonya delicacies and of course to savour some of them. Apart from the famous Nyonya Colours cafes in KL that I've been to, it's really not easy to find a place with all this local sweet delights eventhough Melaka is supposed to be a Nyonya place. Tastewise, I will not say they are the best around for I've eaten better ones somewhere else. Even the ones in Nyonya Colours I felt were better, again it might be personal preference. 

Address:72, Jalan Tengkera Pantai 2C, 75200 Melaka
Website: Babe Charlie Nyonya Cake
Opening hours: 10.30 am to 3.00 pm

Not your usual Thai food @ Go Thai, SS2, PJ, Selangor

I said it's not the usual Thai food because after savouring so many Thai dishes, this was something quite new to me. This restaurant specializes in authentic street food of the Isan people, which is at the northeastern region of Thailand. Their menu is pretty simple, not that many choices but presentable enough for a decent lunch or dinner. 

Panda had the khao kha moo (stewek pork leg with rice and egg-RM 9) while I had the Phad Mee Korat (RM 9) which is a version of pad thai. It was a good thing that Panda suggested a Tom yum seafood to share because it was really good in terms of thickness of soup, spiciness and taste (I'm so gonna learn how to make this in Canada!). However, I felt that there weren't much of a seafood in the soup although it's supposed to be a seafood soup. For RM 12, perhaps, they should consider throwing a couple more calamari and shrimp inside. Panda's dish looked like some typical Chinese stew pork with rice and egg. He did say it was tasty but it didn't really look that tempting to me. My pad thai tasted like a Thai version of char kuey teow (stir fried flat rice noodles) but soggier. Although it tasted good, I think I will stick to the usual pad thai and char kuey teow. This was just too soggy for me. 

For dessert, we shared a bowl of tub tim krob (the famous Thai red rubies-RM 6). I love this dessert because the 'rubies' were really good. It was big, chewy and crunchy enough. It would have been better if they had more jackfruit slices inside to enhance the taste of the dessert. 

Overall, a pretty decent place for lunch and dinner without costing a bomb.

Address: 187, Jalan SS2/24, PJ, Selangor

Website : Go Thai