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)

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

Jjampong (짬뽕), Jjangmyeon (짜장면) & Tangsuyuk (탕수육) @ Andongjang Chinese Restaurant, Seoul, Korea

Important to note the restaurant front as the name is not in English!

Andongjang is known to be the oldest Chinese restaurants in Seoul. Eating Chinese food in Korea ? To be fair, like in other parts of the world, the dishes here have been modified to meet the taste bud of the locals. In fact, Chinese food such as jjampong (Korean spicy seafood noodle soup) and jajangmyeon (black soybean noodles) is pretty famous among the locals particularly for home deliveries (remember Korean drama 'Coffee Prince' ?) Although this place is not exactly located at a tourist area, it is rather famous among the locals. Some servers here (and the owner) speaks Mandarin :)

The usual Korean sides

Tangsuyuk (sweet and sour pork)

We ordered three of the most well-known Korean Chinese dishes. Tangsuyuk or sweet and sour pork is slightly different from the usual sweet and sour pork that I have eaten in Canada or Malaysia. Even the fried pork seems a little different. One obvious difference is the color and the sweeter taste of the dish. While the usual ones are usual stir fried with ketchup sauce, this has a rather clear, brownish sauce (probably what they call as orange sauce). Quite a number of tables, majority locals, ordered this dish by itself to share among them together with a couple bottles of soju. 

Jjampong (Korean spicy seafood noodle)

I personally liked Jjampong the best, which was much enjoyed because of the delicious, spicy broth combined with seafood and noodles. Spiciness can be adjusted so no worries on that ;). The rich broth is totally satisfying for me since I love spicy food. One dish can easily be shared by 2 people. My advice would be to order tangsuyuk, jjajangmyeon and jjampong together to be shared between 2 or 3 people so that you can try a little of everything. Jjajangmyeon (black soybean paste with noodles) is another famous dish particularly for deliveries. You can probably get something like this in some of the Canadian Chinese restaurants (northern Chinese style cooking) although the soybean paste used is different from the Koreanized version. Andongjang's is way less salty compared to those I've tried at Canada and also the instant noodle version. You are also given some extra black soybean paste in case you prefer it saltier. 

Jjajangmyeon (salty black soybean paste noodles) 

Mixing the jjangmyeon

Mostly locals, quite a full house even past 8 pm

I can't exactly remember how much were they but overall, an average Korean dish price. Portion was on the larger side (at least for me ;p), so order to share. If you are getting tired of Korean dishes, give this Koreanized Chinese restaurant a try. I'm sure you will find something you like!

Address: Andongjang Chinese Restaurant, 124, Euljiro-gu, Jung-gu, Seoul

Directions: Euljiro 3-ga station, Line 2, Exit 10

Website: Andongjang

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Visit Seoul 2015: One week travel guide

Fried mung bean pancakes or bindatteok @ Gwangjang Market, Seoul

Famous chicken dakgalbi @ Yoogane, Myeongdong, Seoul

If you think the poisonous puffer fish can't be eaten, think again @ Geumsu Bokkuk, Gangnam, Seoul

Japanese food & movie night @ Coex Mall, Gangnam, Seoul

The best chicken ginseng soup (samgyetang) @ Korea Samgyetang VS Tosokchon, Seoul

Korea Pork BBQ @ Palsaek Samgyeopsal, Seoul, Korea

Cafe hopping in Seoul @ Seoul, Korea

Sanmotoonge 'Coffee Prince' Cafe @ Buam-dong, Seoul, Korea

Street food in Korea @ Seoul, Korea

My Korea shopping haul @ Seoul, Korea

The free 'hanbok' experience @ Myeongdong Tourist Information Centre, Seoul

Awesome lunch deals @ Miramar Chinese Restaurant, Saskatoon

I called it awesome because to get a proper, freshly cooked Chinese meal with a complimentary soup / drink for $7.50 in Toon-town is definitely a catch! Even better than those Chinese kiosk in malls or the usual take-outs. Only recently (I believe early this year) that the restaurant had a change of ownership and do not serve dim sum anymore. What they have is the $7.50 lunch deal which comes with a main of your choice (about 30-ish choices) and a complimentary wan ton soup / coffee / milk tea. To spice up their menu, they also offer BBQ / braised duck with rice (roasted duck is not the usual cheap thing around), probably one of customers' favourite. 

Clockwise from top L: General Tao chicken with rice, milk tea, wan ton soup, shrimp and egg with rice

L: House special fried rice, R: Spicy minced meat and cucumber with noodles (jajangmyeon)

Loved the simple surrounding and easy parking at Market Mall. I dined here twice for lunch. So far, whatever we tried were pretty good. Not too greasy, tasty (not particularly salty), with generous portion of the ingredients. Big eaters can consider their noodles / fried rice mains as the portion is huge. I like how they included the complimentary soup (mediocre) or the coffee / milk tea with the meal. The milk tea (something quite common among Asians) tasted rich though it was just a small cup. Patrons are probably regular customers or those staying nearby looking for a cheap-good-eat for lunch. Menu comes with pictures to help you decide :) If you don't find anything you like (shouldn't be happening considering the options available ;p), they also have the usual Chinese menu. Whether meals are loaded with MSG, I'm not sure, although I'm pretty sure it's part of every Chinese dish (at least I don't feel the undeserved amount of thirst after my meal)

Lunch menu

Address: 2325 Preston Ave S Saskatoon, SK S7J2G1

Discovering the royal palace (Hampton Court Palace) & Chinese food (Imperial China) @ Middlesex, UK

If you've been to Kensington Palace and Tower of London in London, remember to visit another historic royal palace, the Hampton Court Palace in your next trip! This palace is located in Middlesex and was the royal residence of King Henry VIII. Although not as big or grand like Windsor Castle, Hampton Court has its own uniqueness, majestic and charm. We took a tube from Earls Court to Richmond via District Line and from there, sis and hub drove us to the palace. Their website suggested a couple of ways to get here. 

Apart from the palace itself, there are also gardens, a maze, royal tennis court and the largest grape vine in the world to explore. Make sure to put aside a couple of hours to fully wander around all the attractions. There are audio guides and maps for visitors and even formal royal gowns that can be worn while you're exploring the place!

King Henry VII's royal chamber. So drappy and I feel so warm by just looking at it @__@. Ok, to be fair, it was really warm at the chamber section.

Brekkie of chicken pie and mash peas at Privy Kitchen with a 16th century dining hall atmosphere.

Beautiful and majestic work of art!

Once done wandering around the palace, we explored the gardens and palace ground. Weather was wonderful and sunny so, lots of selfie, wefie, sakai-ing and walking! Mum, sis and hub did not enter the palace so they wandered the grounds and took the horse drawn carriage ride (if walking is not your thing;p).We made a mistake of spending too much time at the start of the visit (listening attentively to the audio guide) that we had too little time to actually explore the gardens (okay, maybe too much time wefie-ing as well). We had to skip the maze but we did take a peep inside; so remember to set aside some time for this! 

Visit their website for more info, getting here and admissions: Hampton Court Palace 
Address: East Molesey, Surrey KT8 9AU, United Kingdom

After the royal visit during the day, we had dinner at Imperial China Restaurant, Teddington as an early birthday celebration for mum. We were probably their first customer for that evening! Nice-looking Chinese restaurant with Cantonese-speaking servers. After some disappointing meals at some Chinese restaurants in Saskatoon, I was not expecting much from this. Surprisingly, I would say they are quite good and in fact, it fits my taste bud. Quite close to what we usually get in Malaysia although certain things like the lemon chicken was just mediocre (I thought the batter was too thick). The spicy udon and lotus leaf-wrapped rice were my favourite. The udon looked like your typical udon dish but it has the wok-hei and the spiciness added to the tastiness of it. Same goes for the rice; good consistency, not too greasy, generous amount of ingredient inside and of course the wok hei to make it taste even better! If you like salted fish, you will like the to fu hot pot :) The prawn basket was unique with the 'gold and silver' referring to a mixture of coated, fried prawns while the other is without the coating. Fresh, huge and generous portion of prawns. Unfortunately the 'potato basket' is a mere deco and not edible (we tried eating it and it tasted terrible @__@ lols).

Gold and silver prawns in a potato basket

L to R: Lotus leaf-wrapped fried rice (hor yip fan) and mixed vege hot pot.

Clockwise from top L: Lemon chicken, spicy udon, to fu hot pot

Overall, food and ambience was good, price was ok and servers were attentive and helpful. Came with a complimentary dessert and here's a tip; discounted rate if you're paying by cash, so prepare your pounds! I can't remember how much discount was it but just check with the servers. We were not aware of it till the servers actually asked us for our method of payment. Parking may be a little tight. This place also serves good dim sum so I've heard. 

Address: 196-198 Stanley Rd, Teddington, Middlesex TW11 8UE, UK
Website: Imperial China Restaurant

Other places in London that you might be interested with:

The Proposal @ The Strand Dining Rooms, London, UK

Old style trolley dim sum @ New World, London, UK
The English breakfast @ London, UK
Noodles for everyone @ Wagamama, Earls Court, London, UK

Shrimp dumplings and Laksa @ Momo Cafe, Staines, London, UK

A Pork-y affair @ Pig's Ears, London, UK

Old-style trolley dim sum @ New World, Chinatown, London, UK

 After 3 trips to London over the past few years, I finally tasted their Chinese dimsum. Sis and hub are what I would say, loyal customer of New World, it being one of the very few or perhaps the only one that has the old style dim sum trolley service. We were there on a Sunday so there's lots of people and place looked hectic. Cantonese-speaking staff were efficient but servers pushing carts were moving at quite a slow pace and seemed to be in the word of their own ( can't blame them…they looked like high school kids or something or maybe they are just new with their job). Anyways, we already targeted what we wanted and we were quite determined to get what we want;p

Clockwise from top (L): Steamed shrimp rice rolls, siu mai (pork dim sum), bean curd stuffed pork dim sum and fried shrimp (wan ton style)

Steamed shrimp dumpling (our favourite!)

The 'thing' that made everything tasted superb! Chilli flakes oil

Steamed lotus paste bun and BBQ char siew pork bun

Shanghai (Gyoza-style) dumpling and fried yam stuffed with pork

Another must-have: Fried turnip cake and water chestnut cake

Steamed shrimp rice rolls tasted good especially with the chilli oil, though the rice rolls were slightly thick and not as delicate as those HK-style chee cheong fun we usually have in Malaysia. Our favourite item would be the beautifully-made shrimp dumplings which looked too perfect to be eaten (lols). The skin was thin enough yet it held the generous amount of shrimp inside perfectly well. The lady pushing the cart for the turnip, yam and water chestnut cake is also a must-have! Tell her which you would like and she will quick-fry it fresh for you! The water chestnut cake was really good; imagine slightly fried, sweetish, slightly chewy with chunks of chestnut. Make a good dim sum dessert apart from those commonly have items such as puddings and soybean. 

If you are in London, you've gotta stop by this restaurant. Make it a brunch and then spend some time exploring Chinatown thereafter. This place is less touristy and seemed to accommodate more of the locals.

Address: 1 Gerrard Place, Soho, UK W1D 5PA

Website: New World

Other places in London that you might be interested with:

The Proposal @ The Strand Dining Rooms, London, UK

The English breakfast @ London, UK
Discovering the royal palace and Chinese food @ Middlesex, UK
Noodles for everyone @ Wagamama, Earls Court, London, UK

Shrimp dumplings and Laksa @ Momo Cafe, Staines, London, UK

A Pork-y affair @ Pig's Ears, London, UK

25% savings with Just-Eat @ New Red Lantern, Saskatoon, SK

It's Canada Day !! (And I'm working on my stuff in the lab @__@). Loving the 25% summer savings by Just-Eat and sort of got addicted to the convenience of it (lols). The biggest joke was however, my order was meant for pick-up (being a cheapskate to save on the delivery fee ;p) but the delivery guy called me to say he's at my front door 30 minutes before the scheduled pick-up time. Seriously….they should start looking at the order receipt more clearly.

Singapore rice noodle (with curry sauce)

New Red Lantern restaurant on Alexandra Avenue has quite a selection of Szechuan and the usual Canadian Chinese dishes and boasts (on their pamphlet) MSG-free dishes. I had the Singapore rice noodle, which was basically the only dish that I'm satisfied with. Large portion, fresh shrimp and quite tasty noodles (not too salty or bland). 

Spicy Peking Palace Chicken (Hot…NOT @__@)

Spicy Peking Palace Chicken sounded good, which turned out to be a major mistake! In the order, you are given a choice of mild, medium or hot level of spiciness. Of course, being a typical Malaysian, I selected HOT. First the dish itself, basically it's like stir-fried chicken with black beans and vegetables with a tinge of spiciness. What happen to my HOT ? Two possible explanation; that they didn't see my request for HOT (even though you are supposed to select either mild, medium, or hot when you order) or they are totally confused with spiciness levels ( do you need my help to define these levels ?). Anyways, this dish is not as special as the name implies and I daresay that any other spicy chicken dishes or sweet and sour will be better off.

Hot and sour soup

I've never really tasted Hot and Sour soup; supposedly its Szechuan-style soup. Tasted ok; again not too salty (perhaps, they really didn't use MSG :)) Thickened broth with shrimp, peas, egg, tofu, mushroom and some char-siew (BBQ pork meat). Pretty good combination but would have preferred it to be spicy ( like Thai tom yam soup). 

Overall, food was just ok and price quite standard, although I felt Canadian Chinese food really do not fit my taste bud but it's fine once in a while. Enjoy the summer savings by Just-Eat!

Address : 1702 Alexandra Ave #2 Saskatoon, SK S7K3C5

Website : New Red Lantern Inn



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Take-outs @ Saskatoon (VS what 'tapau' means in Malaysia)

I don't very often order for take-outs (apart from Pizzas and fast food) but here are two I've tried so far:

Chef Express 

I was working on my statistics till late one day and decided to try the Groupon voucher that I bought a couple of weeks earlier. Fairly new place on 3rd Ave downtown. Currently, they are most probably trying out the market by offering deliveries / take-outs. They have tables and chairs but looked pretty empty so I don't think they are ready for it just yet. Called to make my order and went to collect 30 minutes later. Still had to wait for 5-10 minutes for food to be ready (to be fair, I think I was there slightly earlier). One thing good is that this place opens till late; not many Asian restaurants open past 10pm. 

Egg roll and spring roll was a little bit oily. The wax paper pocket used is not really a good idea. It makes the whole delivery packet oily as well. 

Set (A) Egg roll, chicken chow mein and fried rice and sweet sour pork ($10.50). I personally thought this was quite acceptable. I have bad experience with these dinner sets ( usually greasy, soak in oil with very little ingredients); this however was one of the better ones. It has the 'wok hei' (flavor/taste by the hot wok frying) and chunks of real chicken meat in both the noodles and rice. It was not too oily as well. Portion is huge. 

Set (C) Vietnamese spring roll, Pad Thai with chicken and shrimp, Thai Yellow Curry with chicken and steamed rice ($12.50). While I thought the curry and rice was good, the Pad Thai was a major disappointment. The noodles didn't taste right and neither did it taste like Pad Thai to me. Although I must say they are quite generous with the chicken and shrimp; the noodles itself was bland and came out from the container as a big lump. 

Overall, food was just ok. Not the best Asian food around and totally meant for take-outs and deliveries for now but at least they open till late night. I heard their Thai curry pizza is good, so maybe I'll try that next. 

Address : 329, 3rd Avenue N, Saskatoon, SK

Website : Chef Express Restaurant

Oceania Inn Restaurant

A more typical look of take-outs (especially Asian eateries) would be like these that I had from Oceania Inn. Not one of the more famous ones in Saskatoon but because it is around my neighbourhood (and the fact that my roommate works part-time there), I must at least try it out once and in fact, I've ordered for take-out quite a couple of times. Once, I had the Special Chow Mein. A little bit messy  for take-outs and I didn't quite like the idea of using polystyrene for hot gravy. Portion is quite big and considering you pay slightly more than the usual kind of chow mein, they are quite generous with the ingredients. However, I thought that the gravy was quite bland. I'm not so sure whether because they modified it to fit the taste buds of the locals but even the chow mein I had in Chinatown, Vancouver was quite similar in taste and 'blandness'. Maybe its just me :P

Special Chow Mein $10.50

I quite like the Szechuan Ginger Chicken (ordered this more than once ;P). It tasted different from those I usually have in Malaysia. Basically they are deep fried pieces of chicken with sweet, sour, spicy and ginger-y sauce. Its is quite spicy though, but tasted good with rice. Portion is quite big as well. 

Szechuan Ginger Chicken $11.50

Overall, food is ok. Price-wise, its slightly on the high side. I've never dine in before so I'm not sure of the ambience nor service. Probably, certain dishes are worth trying out. Parking is easy as well.

Address : 3929 8th St E Saskatoon, SK S7H5M7

Website : Oceania Inn

What is 'tapau' ? 

If you are in Malaysia, probably every Malaysian (Malay, Chinese, Indians) will know what 'tapau' means despite the fact that this term is of a Chinese dialect (@_@). Its similar to take-outs/take away and frequently used in most eateries. Take-outs/take away is generally used more often in the higher-scale westernized restaurants, some non-Chinese restaurants and fast food joints.  

The usual 'tapau'-look in Malaysia. You must be wondering how many people is that amount for ?? lols

A newer, more 'environmental-friendly' version of 'tapau' which I have not seen myself since last 2 years.