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

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

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

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.

Fish Ball Noodle & Yong Tau Foo @ Restaurant Yee Wat, Melaka

My mum has been a regular customer ( and also bringing her visitors) at this shop since its open. The original shop is located by the highway near Cheng (Lebuh AMJ; from North-South Highway and exit Simpang Ampat). So, my mum brought Panda and I to this shop for lunch when we were in Melaka. This is a fairly new branch located in Taman Malim Jaya. As my mum knew it was going to be packed during lunch, we went there slightly later than lunchtime hours. 

Their specialty (as the shop name implies) ; homemade fish ball. The texture of the fish meat was quite decent. You can see the originality there ( not the usual processed-type). The fresh fried yong tau foo was quite good as well. They also have mee rebus if you fancy something spicy; however, the chilli sauce as dip was good enough !

Worth-trying if you are a fan of yong tau foo or happened to be at this area!

Address : Restoran Yee Wat Sdn Bhd, A1-G 140, Jalan Rahmat, Taman Malim Jaya, 75250 Melaka