14 All Excited Over Ayam Brand™ Baked Beans

Did you know that Ayam Brand™ Baked Beans is loaded with protein, provides a good source of fibre and has anti-ageing benefits? I love that it is free from preservatives and has no added MSG.

This arrived at my front door recently and I am super excited to share with you what I've done with it over the week. I had it for breakfast one day, lunch on another day and then dinner, recently!

Ayam Brand™ Baked Beans

For breakfast, I made Baked Wontons filled with Baked Beans Cheese and Mozzarella Cheese - a quick, light snack to give me the boost I need for my morning chores.

Baked Wontons Filled with Baked Beans Cheese and Mozarella Cheese

Directions: Stuff wonton skin with a small spoonful of baked beans, pile the mozzarella cheese on. Wrap it to preference by using a bit of water to help seal the wonton skin together. Brush the wontons lightly with melted butter and bake in a pre-heated oven at 175C until nicely browned (between 5 to 7 minutes).

The Wonton Adventure

Baked Wontons Filled with Ayam Brand™ Baked Beans Cheese and Mozzarella Cheese

Midday menu consisted of a heavier meal - Baked Beans Sambal with Baby Octopus. A fairly easy dish to make for sambal loving Malaysians, of whom many have already been taught the basics of whipping up a mean chilli condiment.

Ayam Brand™ Baked Beans in Sambal with Baby Octopus

To do this, first boil the baby octopus in lightly salted water for about 45minutes. Drain and keep aside. Make your own sambal (mine is this simple recipe), or buy the ready-made bottled ones. Cook the sambal, with baked beans stirred in last. Once you have the flavours down to a pat, add the baby octopus and stir-fry to coat well. Finger-licking yum, because it is best enjoyed with rice and eaten using your hand.

Boiled Baby Octopus

Dinner was Potatoes Stir-Fried with Baked Beans Light and Onions paired with rice and a hungry friend who gave it a thumbs up.

Potatoes Stir-Fried with Ayam Brand™ Baked Beans Light and Onions

Ingredients:
- 235g potatoes (sliced)
- 1/2 large yellow onion (sliced)
- a handful of fresh coriander (chopped)
- 1/2 can Ayam Brand™ Baked Beans Light 425g
- 2 tbsp cooking oil

Method: Using a non-stick pan, pan-fry the potatoes until cooked. Push aside. In the same pan, saute the onions in one corner. Then, add the baked beans. Mix well. Switch the heat off, stir the fresh coriander in.

Baked Beans and Potatoes? Yum!

Ayam Brand™ Baked Beans Light with Potatoes

There's so much you can do with baked beans when you think outside the can .. the box, I mean.

Ayam Brand™ Baked Beans is sold in three varieties:
- Baked Beans in Tomato Sauce
- Baked Beans in Tomato Sauce Light (50% sugar reduced)
- Baked Beans in Tomato Sauce with Parmesan Cheese

Follow Ayam Brand™ on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/AyamBrand.Recipes, on instagram at @ayamdbrandmy and subscribe to their mailing list for awesome recipes and giveaways.

This is a sponsored post, where I was provided with some products to try.

That said, this piece is wholly written by me and all opinions are my own.

Please read the Disclaimer for this blog under Policies.

16 A Surprise From SCS Dairy

When the courier guy knocked on my door, I was surprised. I wasn't expecting anything from anyone.

" Apa beli? " asked the courier guy as he passed the package to me through the grille. I told him that I hadn't ordered anything so it must be from my cousin. He handed me another package.

"This is mine too...? " The amazement was evident on my face.

"Yaaa ... betul. " The courier guy nodded affirmatively.

I opened the packages and realisation hit me - these were the mystery gifts from SCS Dairy Malaysia! I had joined a giveaway sometime in June to win a Tefal pan. All I had to do was purchase their product and submit the receipt within the week to be entitled to one; I forgot if the prize selection is done by way of a draw. In fact, I had forgotten about the whole thing after submitting a receipt two weeks in a row.

Having used this brand of butter for a long time, it was nothing extra on my marketing list.

SCS Gift Packs

Anyway, I had no idea how beautiful the gift would be. I thought maybe, one kitchen timer and it would be sent via normal mail? To see these instead, made me want to run over to SCS Dairy's office and hug the people involved in making this happen. So generous of them!

SCS Baking Kit

SCS Baking Kit

I decided there and then to donate away my old baking pan and spatula since both have seen better days. One is dented and the coating has started to peel off and the other has a broken handle. The kitchen timer will come in handy since I 'over-twisted' my last one; it was non-digital. I have been depending on my wall clock and my memory to keep track of time. The inconvenience!

SCS Baking Kit

Guess I'll be baking a cake soon. These items are begging to be used.

22 Eat out: Ticklish Ribs & 'Wiches, The Gardens Mall

"Very" ticklish it seems. Jo buzzed me out of the blue to meet her for lunch at Ticklish Ribs & 'Wiches. She has a thing for places with cute piggy decor. I think it has something to do with her being born in the year of the same.

I was at Aeon Mid Valley Megamall trying out this cool pair of three-quarter pants when she called. Rushing out of the fitting room, I asked the sales assistant if she could keep it aside for me, "I'm getting this for sure. Could I come back for it after lunch? " She said it wasn't a problem.

As I walked away, alarming thoughts of someone else grabbing the last pair made me turn around and ultimately, complete the purchase at the cashier. Haha-ing myself over this move. At the same time, I asked my relatives to go ahead and eat without me.

The food had just arrived when I reached the restaurant located on the third floor of The Gardens Mall. The ambiance was lovely with adorable pig statues hanging in several places. The walls were painted with pig comics. The staff is kind and friendly. They allowed my cousin to push her baby stroller in, probably noting that Damien was only a tiny 2-month old and the place was quiet of people.

Very Ticklish Ribs & 'Wiches, The Gardens Mall

The Ambiance at Ticklish Ribs & 'Wiches

BBQ pork ribs is their signature dish. This was so good to eat. The meat was tender and delicious. My aunt was oohing and aahing over it. At first glance, the meat looked dry. At first taste, however, it was really easy to chew and it was tasty!

BBQ Pork Ribs

Don ordered the "Lazy Bones" rice set. It's perfect for people who are too lazy to pick meat off the bones and for those we call 'Fan Tong ' (Rice Bucket in Chinese) aka people who can't go without a rice meal.

Lazy Bones Rice

Sloppy Fries was fun and yummy to eat.

Sloppy Fries

My aunt went with toast and curry minced meat. This wasn't an exciting choice for me. Different strokes for different folks?

Curry Minced Pork With Toast

I ordered a refreshing mango drink after all that running from one corner of the mall to the other. Jo went with a crushed ice Lemongrass Lime drink - it was strongly flavoured and gave me a jolt of mental alertness. I like!

The restaurant was designed to put fun into eating and knowing us, we were really tickled by the menu and just about all the little details that went into the decor.

Very Ticklish Ribs & 'Wiches , The Gardens Mall

Keep Calm and Eat Pork? ... I believe I will !

Ticklish Ribs & 'Wiches
Third Floor, The Gardens Mall, Mid Valley City,
Lingkaran Syed Putra, 59200 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Opening Hours: 10AM - 10PM
For Reservations: 012-567 2216

16 Pasar Malam TTDI Eats

Night markets are my kind of food safaris. There's so much to explore. I tend to skip the area where things such as clothes and household items are sold but occasionally, I spot interesting stainless steel tableware from nearby stalls that later drive me sleepless with excitement because it is cheap! I have so far resisted the temptation to buy it.

"Keep calm and go to sleep! " I tell myself.

Pasar Malam TTDI

The night market in Taman Tun is one I quite enjoy visiting because of this glass noodle stir-fry. It's got black-eyed beans, tofu and tempeh. The bits of dried chilli flakes make it a pretty hot dish that usually has me reaching out for chilled water. Still, I top mine up with sambal sotong (spicy squid).  Are you drooling yet?

Stir-Fried Glass Noodles with Spicy Squid

Hubs had this tasty fried kueh teow for dinner. The preserved green chilli put the oomph in this one.

Stir-Fried Flat Rice Noodles

We also ordered string hoppers (putu mayam) thinking that it would be nice for supper.

String Hoppers (Putu Mayam)

But there is this yummy fried popiah slathered with sweet chili sauce that we find hard to resist. So this came home with us too!

Fried Popiah

You see what's happened? It is all too easy to get carried away at a Pasar Malam. I told myself I needed these crispy mini apam baliks (pancake) for tea. 

Mini Apam Balik

As we crossed the road to the car with plastic bags of food, we passed a food truck selling Tauhu Bakar (Grilled Tofu). You'd think we would be wise enough to ignore it but noOooo, we ordered a packet.

Grilled Tofu

There was no way we could eat everything in one evening so I kept what we didn't in the fridge for the next day ...days!

The best time to visit this market is from 3.45PM onwards when many traders have gotten their makeshift stoves roaring. It's on only Sundays, along Jalan Tun Mohd Fuad 2, Taman Tun Dr Ismail (near Sinaran TTDI).

24 Motivated To Walk To Sunway Velocity Mall

Admittedly, if not for the MRT stopping nearby, I would never have found it attractive to come here considering the distance from home. After my first visit however, there are a now a couple of reasons I am excited to include this into the list of places I take relatives shopping!

Sunway Velocity Mall, Cheras

One, the walk from MRT Maluri Station to the mall is entertaining. I brought my aunt and she was tickled all the way. It was a short distance, but we spent so much time taking photos with the motivational signboards along the covered walkway that we were perspiring from the humidity of the morning sun by the time we reached the steps to the pedestrian bridge.

Motivation To Walk

Two, the food! There's a quaint street food haven on the 4th floor decorated in the style of kopitiams in the 60s or 70s. I am attracted by the good vibes ambiance.  The colourful ceiling lights lent an air of cheerfulness.

Street Food, 4th Floor

Great Spot For A Selfie

Teochew Chendul was the first shop I tried because I really needed a refreshing drink after exploring several MRT stops earlier with Hubs. We sat by the window. Cendol is a an iced coconut milk dessert with red beans and green rice flour jelly - it is sweetened with palm sugar.

Teochew Chendul

Delicate, soft and slithery, this cendul jelly is really good. I remember the one I had once at KLCC's food court long ago; the jelly was frozen!

Teochew Chendul

On my second visit to Sunway Velocity Mall, which was with my aunt, we popped into the same food court for breakfast. Tea Garden Restaurant offered a great view like Teochew Chendul. I like that it's located by the window. We settled here and ordered Mee Rebus (Noodles).

Tea Garden Restaurant

Tea Garden Restaurant - Mee Rebus (Noodles)

Tea Garden Restaurant - Golden Lava Bun

Makan-Makan by Parkson looks like a great place to eat. I have made a mental note to include it on my must-try list.  We passed several restaurants on each floor. I can't remember the names. To be honest, it's not that there are no amazing eateries at the other malls I frequent. It's just that I love how this mall makes me feel - bright, airy, easy access and most of all, the excitement of being somewhere other than where I regularly hang out.

Makan Makan By Parkson

Sunway Velocity Mall, to me, is a new place to bring my relatives and say, "What to eat, arh? You chooselah."

18 Jalan-Jalan MRT Sungai Buloh-Kajang Line

I hopped onto the MRT for the first time two Sundays back with Hubs from Kota Damansara. It was an enjoyable experience that made me think twice about driving - the jam, the flash flood when it rains, the parking, the price of petrol, the craziness that comes with short-tempered drivers!

MRT Malaysia

But mostly, I love it so much because it stops at most of my favourite haunts -- Ikea Cheras/MyTown Shopping Mall (Cochrane Station), Sunway Velocity (Maluri Station), 1Utama (Bandar Utama), Ikea Damansara/TheCurve (Mutiara Damansara Station), Sunway Nexis/Sunway Giza (Surian Station), Central Market (Pasar Seni Station). Another plus? My cravings for Satay Kajang will not be left unattended for long; I've yet to go all the way but I hear that the MRT station stops within walking distance from Hj Samuri's famous Satay restaurant. 

MRT Station Bandar Tun Hussein Onn with Carpark

Bright, spacious and air-con cool, I found the MRT comfy. It was widespread in the news that the facilities had been subject to vandalism and misuse. I was too much in my own world to notice anything other than the scenery we passed and the people around me. There were many senior citizens getting on and off - I found them enigmatic and cute. How excited they were in their chatter with similar-aged friends! 

MRT Malaysia

We had our Touch 'n Go cards with us so we used that to get in and out of the station. The signboards are clear and easy to understand. Finding our way was a piece of cake.

MRT - In and Out with Touch n Go Cards

I love that there's a glass divider between the track and platform. These platform screen doors make it much safer for commuters. Years ago, when I depended heavily on the LRT to get to work, I sometimes worried about people falling onto the track which had an open concept. The morning rush, an impatient crowd - the risk is there.

MRT Sungai Buloh-Kajang Line - Every 9 Minutes

 

MRT Sungai Buloh-Kajang Line Platform Screen Doors

The underground stations are well lit.

MRT Malaysia - The Underground Station

There were benches for people to sit and wait for trains. This colourful one was born out of a design competition.

MRT Bench

Peeking through a glass door into the restricted area, I was thrilled to see the train tunnel. Several movie scenes played out in my head - Ninja Turtles fighting the bad guys, tens of walking corpes making their awkward way forward, a huge wave of water rushing in ..

The Dusty MRT Tunnel

Bridge to MRT - The Surian Stop

We wanted to try out the feeder bus but the long wait got to us so we decided to postpone the experience to another time.

MRT Feeder Bus

Days later, I took my aunt on her first MRT ride. She enjoyed it too! We gallivanted from Sunway Velocity to The Curve, shopping and window-shopping to our heart's content.

With this new line, getting around has just gotten easier for me.