19 Eats : Steam King Seafood Restaurant, Kota Damansara

Eleven days into 2018 and it's full steam ahead workwise until the next holidays for many people. But that doesn't mean the festivities is over, at least not in my case. It doesn't help that my Birthday falls in January and that Chinese New Year is looming.

Anyway, Hubs and I celebrated with a delicious meal at Steam King Seafood Restaurant. It has a typical Chinese eatery ambiance with tables draped in red tablecloth and chairs wrapped in bright yellow covers. Hubs and I were their first customers that evening and we had the place to ourselves. The chef had just arrived.

We ordered one of their best dishes which is Seafood Beancurd Curry. Slurp-worthy, tasty, I was ladling spoonful after spoonful onto my half plate of rice. It is one of the yummiest curry soups I had tried!

Seafood Beancurd Curry

Sweet potato leaves stir-fried belacan style is a Malaysian classic. I enjoyed it thoroughly of course, having had this countless times and never finding fault with the aroma and flavour. It's a taste we've been familiar with since young and is considered local comfort food.

Belacan Fried Sweet Potato Leaves

We also ordered a plate of Stir-fried Spicy Lala. Now this is us getting greedy! That's three dishes on the chilli side for this gloomy weather.

Spicy Fried Lala

Yet we couldn't resist adding another after drooling over the Creamy Butter Chicken  pic in the menu. Was this good? Yes! 

Creamy Butter Chicken

The meal came with a complimentary bowl of steaming hot ABC soup. Five dishes for two people? Mmm..

Steam King Seafood Restaurant

Nevertheless, it was an enjoyable meal and we went home satisfied.

20 The Magnificent Croissant At Le Bread Days

There was once a huge hoo-ha over these molten salted egg yolk croissants - long queues, shortage, frustrated customers.

Me? I'm late for the party as usual, which is a really good thing. 😉  I strolled into the fairly empty  bakery around 10am last Sunday for breakfast. The hype, I guess, was over. It was my Birthday and I thought what better way to celebrate it than to go where I hadn't been before. Google provided me with lots of suggestions but here I was in this neat and cosy cafe getting my hot chocolate fix and trying out the famed croissant. It was the perfect start to my day.

Le Bread Days - Molten Salted Egg Croissant

A long time ago, I told my friend that life was short and we should look forward to planning and celebrating our own Birthdays instead of going low-key. It's wonderful to catch up with close friends and family, aaaand for the past few years, I have also been setting aside an extra day or two for myself to do the stuff I want. Often, I would choose a quiet staycation or getaway.

But back to my pleasurable experience at Le Bread Days - I fell in love with the croissants, of course. They were heavenly. Sweet, salty, creamy, it is stuff that you can easily overeat. The ambiance of the place was amazing. It was serene and I felt a sense of bliss. I liked that it was only us and another customer sitting in the white interior designed cafe.

The enthusiastic Hubs: Naaa..I cut for you to take picture. Here, here!  😇

Molten Salted Egg Croissant

The wife: Uh ..Ling, I do it myself, ok ... (laugh-die-me moment) 😅 😆 Hubs gave me a sheepish grin that said 'Oh-my-God-I-messed-it-up-so-badly'.

I treasure small moments of funniness such as these. A smile creeping up on our lips whilst we reminisce candid times is the best feeling in life!

This is what we had for breakfast:

Hot Chocolate and Mocha (Around RM10 each)

Molten Salted Egg Custard Croissants (About RM10)

We couldn't resist buying these pastries home. They were yummy too!

Other Pastries From Le Bread Days

The outside and inside of Le Bread Days, SS15 Subang Jaya.

Le Bread Days, SS15

Le Bread Days
48, Ground Floor, Jalan SS15/4, Subang Jaya.
Telephone : 03 - 5612 2780
Open from 8.00am to 8.30pm

I can't wait to come back here! 💗

12 At The Launch Of The Resort Café, Sunway Resort Hotel & Spa

It's not very often that I am awed by buffet spreads that make me wish I had the appetite of a professional wrestler who can gulp down copious amounts of food in one sitting. I spent thirty minutes deciding what to put on my plate. This predicament, in light that I can only eat so much.

Lucky me won invites to the launch of The Resort Café from a Facebook contest organised by Sunway Resort Hotel & Spa recently. The café is located near the entrance of the hotel so it was an easy find.

My first impression of the place was of wonderment. There were chefs and smiling assistants greeting us along the way. It was bustling with activity - on-the-spot cooking, food being served, photo-taking. We were well attended to. Kudos to the team!

Me, my Aunt and close Friend at The Resort Café

I would describe the ambiance as full of good vibes.

The Quieter Corner Of The Resort Café

'Wow!' is what I have to say about the food.

A tissue in hand would be handy right about now, because these are dishes that will make you salivate...lots. And the effort they had put into pulling off such a great feast to please us is cause for teary eyes.

The buffet offers a wide selection of cuisine to choose from - there's Malaysian, Indian, Chinese, Thai, Japanese, Middle Eastern and more. Click here to see the full list. Fresh fruits, salads and desserts were aplenty. I was told that the Nyonya kuih was flown in direct from Penang that morning. We were getting the best there is out there!

Here are some of my favourites.

DELICIOUS,I SAY
First, the Salmon Wellington. The meat was pleasantly tender. This was tops in my opinion. It was so heavenly to tuck into that the experience remains in my mind until today.

Salmon Wellington

Then, there's the creamy Blue Pumpkin Curry Soup which had me swooning for more that I tried to savour every slurp as long as I could. I can be really dramatic about yummy food.

Blue Pumpkin Curry Soup

Next, the Braised Soy Sauce Platter. As you can probably guess, this is rich in the flavour department. I had a little of everything. As a fan of soy-anything, this calls out to me for seconds.

Briased Soy-Sauce Platter

See Singapore Chilli Crab? Think rich, thick, spicy gravy. This is paired with fried mantao. I believe we shouldn't be shy to go all out at buffets because the Chefs have toiled many days to give us the tastiest food - planning, purchasing, preparing, cooking, taste-testing ..what they do is too vast for me to mention in detail. The best compliment you can give a Chef is to clean the plate out and lick the bowl clean. 

Singapore Chilli Crab

Desserts that make you wish they had a buffet just for d-e-s-s-e-r-t-s.

Imagine if, just for a day, the people at The Resort Café told me this - "Okay, Sharon. We heard ya. RM40nett eat-all-you-want from the dessert corner. You have two hours." ...... JOY!!

Notice that I didn't take anything anything from the salad or the fruit tower? I honestly didn't have space for that, not with desserts that looked this sexy.

Desserts

The ones I would have more than one serving of - Cendol Panna Cotta (dessert cup 2nd from left) and Coconut Pudding (dessert cup far-left)! Silky smooth is how I would describe the texture. The sauce has natural light flavours that's not overpoweringly sweet.

I also adore the Passionfruit treat that is adorned with a roll of Chocolate Strings on top (dessert cup far-right).

I would round up the dessert corner as a very romantic adventure. Can I say that my experience was orgasmic?

Desserts

INTERESTING DISHES
I found these dishes fascinating because it's not something that I regularly see or have tasted.

Luuk Chuup - A Thai mun bean marzipan.
 

Luuk Chuup

Chicken with bulgur in a cob loaf.

Chicken with bulgur in a cob loaf.

Pan Fried Chicken Patties with Espresso Sauce. The espresso is a nice touch to the sauce. The picture below shows some of the other dishes that we tried too. 

Top, from left: Fresh Oysters, Chicken Patties with Espresso Sauce
Bottom, from left: Glazed BBQ Beef Ribs, Winter Melon with Scallop and Fish Maw Soup

THE FRESH STUFF
There is a decent variety of raw and fresh food.

Top, from left: Fresh Salmon, Salad Sauces.
Bottom, from left: Fresh Fruits, Fresh Vegetables.

Finally, the surprise! We were halfway through our meal when we heard ringing from a hand bell. "Could it be?"  Our excitement began to rise. Yes, it was the ice cream man! An ice cream cart was rolled into the dining area with much fanfare. We were each blessed with 'roti ais krim' (ice-cream with bread). Bliss. 

Ice Cream with Bread!

That ends my very exciting afternoon at The Resort Café, now etched in memory as a beautiful moment in my life - all thanks to the amazing team that had played a role in making things happen for us, the diners.

34 Sau Tao Scallop Noodles - I say Yum!

March 5 marked the 15th night of Chinese New Year, famously referred to as Chap Goh Meh  over at our corner of the world. For us, this occasion is usually celebrated with prayers and an elaborate meal with the family.

I settled for a simple dinner instead. Something out of a hamper, after being drawn to Google's feature story on instant noodle inventor, Momofuku Ando, who was also key in introducing cup noodles to the market.

I have always considered instant noodles one of the seven wonders of the food world considering its importance to disaster relief efforts and the lift it has given to broke college students. I remember the moments I have hallelujah-ed over finding a packet of noodles in my kitchen cabinet after a long day at work, followed by the long commute home.

This is what I made for dinner that evening ~ Instant scallop noodles topped with fish maw and pacific clams. All three items, from a hamper I received.

Scallop Noodles and Pacific Clams

A little about what Sau Tao Scallop instant noodles look like before I sent it to the stove.

Sau Tao Scallop Noodle

It comes with a sachet of sauce with olive oil. Righttt... 'sauce' can mean anything. The back of the box states - ginger, oyster sauce, soy sauce, fish powder, scallop powder, sugar, salt. That's the essence of it.

Scallop noodles and a sachet of sauce.

Boil the noodles for two minutes. Drain the water away. Toss the noodles in a strainer for good measure. Put the noodles into a deep bowl, pour the sauce in and using chopsticks, give it a mad stir!

Cooked scallop noodles with sauce.

I wasn't expecting this one to taste amazing so I had prepared my own pumpkin sauce (with pacific clams and fish maw) in advance. So much for being positive ...that, or I'm just being greedy. I think I was greedy. The noodles would have looked too plain.

My honest opinion? It was yum on its own! A springy noodle with robust flavours. They've got the seasoning down to a pat.

Sau Tao Scallop Instant Noodles

Where have you been all my life... I have to go thank the person who gave me this! Not that I haven't, but this requires a second thank-you.

8 Much Ado About Curry Puffs

We get it at this little stall that's stationed in front of CIMB - The Strand, Kota Damansara.

Curry Puff Stall At The Strand

I love these curry puffs. It's not greasy and they didn't stinge on the filling. I don't remember ever making curry puffs in my younger days. Sardine puffs were more our thing. The family isn't very fussy about food. I don't think anyone ever really complained about eating the same thing over and over again. Sardine puffs, I mean. In fact, we looked forward to it.

I remember the time I stuck to eating McDonald's McEgg almost every other day just because it costs under a Ringgit. I had left my hometown for the city to pursue my studies. I was always conscious about burdening my parents. Every penny that could be saved was saved. I never once groused, "McD againnnnn! " You could say that I was one of those people who never had to think too much over what-to-eat and where-to-eat.

Curry Puff 

These curry puffs cost RM0.50 each. It's filled with tender curried potatoes. Flavour-wise, this is sweetish and spicy. My husband raves over these to no end. One evening, I received a phone message with several photos and an apology for over-feeding us. Ten, he bought ten!

"Ling, I took some photos so you could blog about it! " he informed me rather enthusiastically.

I was tickled by his insistence. So here it is on my blog today.

Curry Potato Filling

Just to give you a better idea what the stall looks like and where it is, I'm attaching another photo :

The Curry Puff stall in front of CIMB Bank, The Strand

He sells nasi lemak too. Nasi lemak is coconut milk rice that's usually topped with a spicy chili sauce along with some fried peanuts, anchovies and fresh cucumber (ingredients may vary). It is then wrapped in banana leaf, as you can see from the picture below.

They sell Nasi Lemak too!

That's the end of my curry puff post. I'm curious - are you into curry puff and if you are, where are you getting it from .....or do you make your own (whoa) ?

12 'Tis the season for Lemang

It's Lemang  season. What's that, you ask? Lemang is coconut glutinous rice, cooked in a bamboo stick lined with banana leaf, over a fire. Cooking this requires a bit of patience because it involves many hours, but the wait is worth it. This fragrant rice is usually enjoyed with a dollop of dry or thick curry.

Lemang and Rendang Curry

The lemang sellers were out in full force on the second day of Raya. For me, the roadside makeshift stalls were a welcome sight versus the quietness that had consumed the city two days before the Raya celebrations.

Many Malaysians celebrating the festival had gone back to their hometowns. Some chose to make use of the long weekend with a short vacation elsewhere. Us? Machoguy and I spent our time catching up with movies and roaming the far corners of the city for something 'special' to eat. Lemang being one of it, as you can see....and McDonald's. Yep, that happened because it was the only restaurant we could find that was open for business. Don't give me that look, now.  

~~~

On one of the days, we headed into Kajang to see if there were any satay stalls open. The shops were all closed and it was eerily quiet...until we drove into a little transportation hub. The streets were full of people. It was eye-opening to see that most of them were Bangladeshis. Why here, I wondered. I could not see signs of ample job or business opportunities. Aah..perhaps I visit the wrong day.

In one corner, I saw a neat long queue for the bus. I looked on in envy.

I wish we all behaved in the same manner at ticket booths...

~~~

The holidays have come to an end. The city will be bustling again. What's in August? Our National Day celebrations! Flying the flag, yes or no?

10 MyKuali's Instant Noodle Tops The Ramen Rater's List

Malaysia's MyKuali Penang White Curry Noodle made it to the number one spot in The Ramen Rater's list of 'Top Ten Instant Noodles Of All Time 2014 Edition' recently.

Last year, it was the fastest selling instant noodle in the country. Boxes were literally flying off the shelves. Unscrupulous parties targeted desperate buyers, offering what stock they had at a higher price.

The hype has eased. A number of copycats have since emerged in the market. Some are quick to point out, "Brand X is better!",  "Brand Y is more delicious!"  I guess it's one man's meat, another man's poison. No one can dictate who likes what, yes? It's a personal thing. MyKuali Penang's White Curry Noodle may not have won 'everyone's' hearts, but it has moved many rumbling tummies and gained hordes of fans.

Dried noodles with curry paste, non-dairy creamer and seasoning

Is it an aye for me? I think it's really slurp-worthy. The broth is rich and flavourful. MyKuali has upped the ante in InstantNoodleDom by adding a little oomph into the otherwise quiet industry of instant noodles. Whether anyone realises it or not, this deserves memorable mention in Malaysia's instant noodle history.

I'm just someone who has never been able to appreciate instant curry noodles as it is. I've always stirred in a spoon of tom yum paste for that bit of sour in the soup. So, if you're wondering if MyKuali's White Curry Noodle wows my palate, I would honestly 'no' that.... at least not until I add my teaspoon of tom yum paste. I do the same for the other brands too. I'm a tom yum curry kinda girl, and woefully, have yet to find anything in the market that caters to my instant noodle needs.

MyKuali Penang White Curry Noodles

Ready to be slurped!

As a Malaysian, I bask in pride that a local brand is making waves beyond our shore.

That said, variety is the spice of life. I enjoy several brands of instant noodle. This is the latest that's made it into my shopping list.

0 Mee Suah on the 1st Day of Chinese New Year

Long Life Brand

Mee suah for breakfast on the first day of Chinese New Year (CNY) has been a tradition for the Hokkien side of my family for generations.

In case you don't know, mee suah is noodle made from wheat flour. For the Chinese, it is usually served long and uncut as a symbol of longevity.

I always look forward to having this bowl of "long life" noodles which is specially cooked by my mother-in-law (mama). I get this warm tingly feeling with every slurp because I know a lot of love and laughter went into making this dish of soupy goodness.

And I am also reminded of faithfulness. Mama has been making this CNY dish for the clan for decades, never failing even when the year was tough! This fighting spirit is rarely seen these days.

Many of us have stopped carrying on a lot of traditional practices not so much out of disinterest but because it's mafan (trouble) to do and we're inclined towards "I, me, my, mine, myself".

I hope I don't fall into this modern time trap  because I love a life enriched with tradition and history ~ the lessons, the frequent gatherings, the camaraderie it invokes, the colourful decorations, the meaning that it brings to each one of us.  With tradition, it is always a ton of fun family activities. We learn something about one another, we bond, we create fond memories.

But enough with my personal thoughts already.

Here are some photos I took of our mee suah breakfast on the first day of the Snake Year. Oolala! ... or ular-la, as our local Chinese radio station has coined it. (Ular, meaning snake in Malay)

Mee Suah (Wheat flour noodles)

Herbal chicken soup with Wolfberries and Solomon's Seal Rhizome (Yuzhu)

Boil noodles in water separately for a couple of minutes. Discard water when done.

Serve cooked noodles with herbal chicken soup and add one boiled egg. Tadaaa...slurrp!

0 The "BIG" Curry Bun at Restoran Tin Hoe Hweeh

We had just finished our breakfast of wonton noodles when a lady walked passed us - with a hUuuge(!) bun on her tray.

Excitement was written all over our face. We followed her to the glass display cabinet lined with local made cakes, pastries and bread.

"What is this, arh?"  We asked.

"Curry bun. RM16." Outrageous.

"Huaaa...want or not?"  Machoman looked at me.

"Wantlahhh..once in a lifetime!"  Such an eager beaver I am. We tapao-ed (packed) one home.

There you have it. One expensive bun in the bag .. but well worth the experience and a warm way to share food. I imagine bringing this along to a picnic or having it at small cosy parties.

At home, I started to admire it even more, gently moving it about for photos (wait..does that look like the tip of... *smack!* ), poking at it to test its softness, sniffing at the fresh smell of baked bread.

Poke. Soft.

Although I was reluctant, it was time to eat it. I got the knife out, slicing as I would a cake. Well, it did come in a cake box!  Seconds later, I was frantically going,"Oh! oh! the gravy's leaking all out!!!"  We grabbed another plate to raise the affected area to stop the flow.

When it comes to large curry buns, it is safer to tear or slice open from top across - lesson learnt.

This bun contains curry chicken covered in grease proof paper. Such a neat idea that makes perfect sense because this way, we can tear bread off the sides and dip it into the gravy at the center.

Without the greaseproof paper, the gravy would have soaked into the bread and it'd be the usual dry curry buns we're used to.

How did I find this taste-wise? YummMmmYYyy!!

Comes in a standard sized cake box. A treat for 4 people - 2.5 times the width of my arm!

Slice open from top across

Warm soft bread and rich flavoured curry chicken

Corner lot located along Jalan Ipoh

0 Eat Out: Thai Garden Village, Kepong

It was a makan (eat) weekend for me, spent catching up with different group of friends and family. I also ended up sleeping at 4am for two nights in a row. What can I say? Vibrant chit-chat made me lose track of time...I gained insight and eye bags.

One Hot Chick

We were at the Thai Garden Village restaurant on Sunday to try out an exciting dish called the Fire Phoenix Chicken. This was a chicken on fire, literally.

I love coming to this restaurant for the cosy ambiance and warm smiles. The waiters are a friendly and attentive lot.

No sooner had we sat down, the menu was placed in front of us. They waited patiently while we hello-ed and how-are-you-ed. I could even feel their friendliness when we asked if they could help snap a photo of us. It was all very down to earth.

We placed our order finally - a mix of vegetables, seafood and of course, the special chicken. There was a choice of two flavours for the chicken, between honey or black pepper. We opted for the latter.

This is how the chicken is served - cooked and covered in gravy.

Fire Phoenix

Then, the waiter uses a flame stick to light it up. I captured a short video.

The chicken is ready to be eaten after the fire dies out. This takes about a minute or so but I can't be really sure because I was distracted with photo-taking!

Mmm..mmm..! The chicken was so so yummy. The gravy has been infused into a burst of roasted flavour. I personally enjoyed every bite.

The other dish that stole my attention was the Tom Yum Seafood Soup - a bold and spicy take on a household favourite. The Chef was generous with the ingredients too.

Tom Yum Seafood

It was a night of over-indulgence - good food, good company and obviously outdid ourselves. We waddled to the car in tighter pants. Oooh!

An overview of our feast and the restaurant:

Mamma mia..

Cosy - the place was packed by 7.30PM