delicious Photo Log

Beef Lasagne

Traditional Nasi Lemak

Cod Fish

Chocolate Brownie with Vanilla Ice Cream

Lemon Meringue Pie

Seriously.... do I need to say more???? 

E&O Hotel: English Afternoon Tea

Good evening! I am in a pleasant mood today~! :D Thanks to the contribution of a certain someone, my Mum and I had the opportunity to dine at the Eastern and Oriental Hotel, which was established since 1885. We went there to have the hotel's English Afternoon Tea. Sounds very elite, don't you think so? 

 

Even the ashes are decorated.... @___@

I have been hearing quite a lot of people going for high tea and afternoon tea. Initially I thought both of them were the same. On that contrary, it is not the case. In brief, high tea is held later in the evening (around 6pm) while afternoon tea is taken from two something to five in the evening. Besides the different time setting, the food served during high tea is heavier in contrast to the latter. Here is the link for a more elaborate explanation. 

As we enter into the 1885 restaurant, we were greeted by...

...lots and lots of pastries and cakes!!!

We were escorted to our seats, which was located near a glassed door, where a garden is just right outside.

 And how can you have afternoon tea without tea? I had chosen Creme Orange tea, which a blend of vanilla essence and orange flavour tea. It is very aromatic and sweet smelling. 

I was told that the English would often add milk and sugar to their tea when they attend to such events. Being the curious person that I am, I gave it a try...

Honestly, I can't tell the difference!

So what did we have for our English afternoon tea?

Scones, sandwiches, pastries and cakes! These sandwiches aren't your ordinary sandwiches. They were made with roasted beef, smoked salmon, dill and cucumber! Simply superb!

When I first saw the food, I whispered my mum, "Mum, this is IT?? FOR TWO???" Yes, I was complaining that the portion being served was too little. However, I regretted I said that AFTER I finished my share of scones and sandwiches. I was already FULL!~! We had to rest a while before we continued with the rest.

Overall, the food was IMPECCABLE! It was absolutely a great experience for my taste buds as I have never tasted anything like it before~! Therefore, today was a good day!

Lor Bak

On Wednesday morning, my Mum had a little demonstration on how to make a famous Penang dish - "Lor Bak". According to Wikipedia, Lor Bak is made by marinated minced pork, then roll in thin soybean sheets and then deep fried.

There are many variations on the types of meat used in the Lor Bak. Some people prefer to use pork sausages, others prefer to use minced pork. The way that was taught to my Mum was to use lean pork instead. Thus, it really depends on what your taste buds tell you. Anyway, I have already summarized the entire cooking process into three big pictures. Enjoy!

Penang: Food Indulgences

Whenever I go home in Penang, no doubt I will gain a few pounds. The first thing my friend told me when I went back to Subang, she said, "Aiyo, you have become chubbier!" What to do? Food was too good to resist! Moreover, this time going back home was special. It was our first family reunion after a long long time. The last time the five of us got together, if I am not mistaken, was in 2002. After that time, each of us couldn't meet together at the same time due to our different courses and schedules. I am so glad and thrilled to see all of together again. My dad was happy as well and he decided to spoil us with amazing good food!

BEHOLD!

Chinese Cuisine in May Garden Palace in Penang.
Abalone - Call me stupid or whatever you want, I seriously do not know how to appreciate abalone. I ate only half and the other half I gave to my brother.

Fine Dining: Italian Food Common people like me do not always get the chance to dine at such a sophisticated restaurant. No doubt it was expensive but the food was really out of this world. Of course, not forgetting this...

JAPANESE FOOD! That basically summarizes my whole week back home! :)

Food Troubles

After three whole years eating the university's cafeteria food, this is the first time I actually encountered a headache from eating! Not only was it expensive and I was cheated in taking onion rings when they were actually fried sotong rings!! Man.. I had to skip my Psychology lecture because of that headache. Was having a hard time concentrating to do anything. So what did I end up doing? I went up to the third floor of library, pulled out two sofa chairs to face each other and BAM... I fell asleep. Normally I wouldn't do such a thing especially when there was a bunch of students hanging around there *embarrassed*, but I couldn't help myself. It distracted me from my revision. I didn't go home immediately because I had some other things to attend to later in the evening. I woke myself up twice during my two hours of 'nap' and each time I woke up, I found out there were more people sleeping on the sofas as well. Either it is the bad food from the cafeteria, or those students had finished their assignments for the day. Glad that it was just a minor headache. Felt much better after a good rest. Therefore, the lesson for today is not to consume the butter chicken in the cafeteria ever again! Sigh... It did taste good though...

The Long Forgotten Post

I just realized I have forgotten to publish this post!!! Although this is wayyy overdue, I am just gonna post it anyway.

*****

Today is the Chinese 牛 Year eve!

We, the Chinese, would all be doing the same thing on this day. Last minute shopping! We woke up early in the morning to join the crowd in all the wet markets, most of them, across Penang! Just look at the ducks and chicken, they are RED!!!! Though there were plenty of people around, a lot of the stalls were closed for the day. Everyone is busy preparing for the reunion dinner.

******

I haven't done any food reviewing in quite a while... so here goes. The place is situated in Gurney Plaza, New Wing, directly besides Sakae Sushi.


It is called 眩升. It is the same branch located in Tanjung Tokong but that particular branch is specifically for steamboat. This one is just another typical Chinese restaurant.

Presentation-wise... is just so-so. Nothing special. However, with their price, a whole lot of improvement can be done!!


杨州香炒饭 海鲜炒生面 牛肉炒生面

As you can see, it doesn't look very yummy at all! We ordered a total of 4 dishes. Among the four, what I like is the 杨州香炒饭 and 家乡豆腐. Seriously, the fried rice is very moist and tasty. With char siew pieces and prawns, it was fried with enough oil, making it a very good dish. And for the tou fu, what did they do was they fried the mince beef together with thinly chopped salted fish and placed them over the steamed tou fu. Very very salty but nice. You should definitely try these two.

As for the other two, they are not very unique in the sense that the both noodles were poured over with the same gravy. Making their taste... basically the same. Although it was with different ingredients, they taste the same. Very boring.

*****

NOW this is totally unexpected!

"Girl, this is the doctor who delivered you."
"WHAT????"

The other day, I bumped into the doctor who delivered me from my mother's womb into this world!!!!!!!! OMG!!!!!! Whether I end up normal, alive, dead or just plain weird, was all in her hands for those critical times....!!!??!?! I don't know, it is just weird to meet that person. She is very thin but healthy-looking. I was in disbelief for a short while while my brain is slowly registering this newly discovered fact. After all my funny emotions began to settle down, my parents started telling me "the situations" that occured during my birth. It was really surprising to know this tiny detail. I was amazed and astounded why my parents never told me about it. Haha... maybe you all should dig out the tiny details about the process of your births, I am pretty sure you'll find something interesting and funny about it. =P

The Fortune of the Day is...

What better way to start off the CNY with a fortune cookie! Mum bought it from Cold Storage and it tasted like oranges!

So my fortune for this first day of CNY is...

"Your dreams are never silly, depend on them to guide you."

When my parents saw it, they had that look on their faces. I know what they are thinking. They are thinking that, "Your dreams are ALWAYS SILLY!!!" Oh well... *shrugged* doesn't matter =)

Happy CNY people!!!!

Haigh's Chocolate

During my Adelaide trip, my family and I went to a chocolate factory - Haigh's Chocolate.

The story behind Haigh's Chocolate began in 1915, where the first generations of Haigh's family had a desire to own a candy shop. Hence, with his savings, he bought a corner shop at Rundle Mall. Every night, he would go upstairs and made candy with his own two hands and sell them in the shop every day. However, he never made any chocolate during his time. After he had passed away, his son, the 2nd generation of Haigh, took up what his father had left off. Again, he did not make any chocolate but sold chocolates of another brand. It was until the 3rd generation of Haigh's family had this sudden revelation and he asked himself, "Why don't I make chocolate on my own?" This young man was very VERY fortunate because he had the chance of a lifetime. "What is this chance?", you may asked. This lucky fella was able to learn how to make chocolate from the Lindt's family! In case you don't know, Lindt's Chocolate is a very well-known chocolate from Switzerland! And the rest, as they say, is history. It was an amazing experience to have a look around the chocolate factory, especially since the aroma is to die for! My goodness.... I can still remember the sensational aroma of chocolate... HHHMMmmmm.... However, sad to say, they do not import these chocolate at all. Haigh's Chocolate is only sold in Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney. Why? Because they are all hand-made! Seriously. ALL HAND-MADE! So, all you chocolate lovers out there, if you ever go down to Adelaide, be sure to stop by the former "candy shop".

Food Heaven in Aussie Land

Guess who's back? *grins*

A week's vacation in Adelaide, Australia was AWESOME! I had a blast!!! And ate a whole lot of good food... That's why I wrote "KimberlyMay is fat, stinky and exhausted" in my Facebook status. Anyway, I seriously do not know how to begin my vacation. So, I will let the pictures do all the talking for now. I am suffering from PVC (post-vacation syndrome) = EXHAUSTION. And they say vacation is a time of relaxation.... yeah, right.... *rolling my eyes* All I wanna do is to sit back, relax and lie in bed all day long. However, that fantasy will never come true because my mum will make sure that there is something for me to do. Sigh... where was I again? Oh right... Pictures! The main theme for this first compilation of photos is FOOD. Will upload more photos soon. Over 500 pictures taken... man... sometimes I wish the internet speed will miraculously increase a hundredfold! Then I wouldn't have to wait for it to load.....

Four Weeks++

Well... I'll be! This is the fifth week already since I last came home with my Mum and bro. Ok, recap... umm...... eh...... what the hell have I been doing these past few weeks?!?!?!? For your information, the past few weeks were spent rather eventful, I would say.

Week One:
Spent a lot of quality time with my second eldest brother where our daily activities consisted of arguing, explanations, shouting, messing around, getting on my mother's nerves and shopping. You gotta feel the loooveeee...~ This was taken the very first morning we got back from Subang together. The blurry effect was because....I just woke up at that time =S



This was taken before he left to Aussie.

Week Two:
The two of us went to shop a present for our Mum. If you knew our Mum, you know it is an EXTREMELY DIFFICULT task. She has a particular taste and is sooooo picky. Thankfully, we went through all the trouble and SHE LOVES IT!!!! We were in awe but we were relief that she ACTUALLY LOVES it!

Of course, when you are in the Pearl of the Orient, good food is never too far away.











Drool, people, drool...~!!

Oh we also celebrated our grandmother's birthday! She is 86 and still going STRONG!!


Week Three:
Sent my brother off to the airport. Saw that Nando's is FINALLY closed down and replaced with McD's!!! I am never a fan of Nando's, I just don't like the food there. I am so glad that McDonald's is in the airport!!! It's about TIME!

Then, my Mum and I went to help out Dad with his work. Saw some pretty interesting cases. A lot of people getting accidents these days. They just came in, bleeding here and there. It was scary to look at in the beginning but after a while, you'll get used to it. Then there is a particular case where an elderly woman had an infection at her feet and she is also diabetic. However, she was ignorant about the condition and obviously it gotten so bad to the stage that she had feet gangrene. It was absolutely disgusting and odorous BUT very interesting. Why do I say that? It is because when my dad literally cut a hole at her feet to drain out the pus (A LOT) and blood, she felt no pain at all. She didn't scream nor budged. She just sat there and let procedure take place. Pretty amazing :P I was not able to take the pictures because it was gross and I don't want the camera to be stained with pus.

Week Four and Five:
Met up with my best friends during the night as I was working during the daytime. It's always the three of us. The funny thing is that, we are absolutely nothing alike and yet we can be truthful and real to each other about our lives, families and the things that we are dealing with.

From left: Soo Zhen, Sin Ling, Mei How

Ohhh... I finally cut my hair. Can't stand it for having it too long. And now, have to start packing for one-week VACATION!!! Can't wait. Fill you in soon. Toodles!

Noodles for Lunch

It has been non-stop pouring on our little island... What is the best way to keep warm in this cool, somewhat cold weather? Do what we Penangnites do - EAT!!!! Yesterday I had the Penang's infamous Gu Bak Kuey Teow (Beef Noodles) near Chulia Street. One big bowl costs RM8. I was pretty lucky as the stall owner wanted to close the shop during Hari Raya, which is today! So glad that I was able to eat it before I go back to Subang on Friday.

Coming back home is always, ALWAYS a joy and comfort! Mummy would go all out and cook her best dishes. And as for today's lunch, Chicken Noodles Soup was on the menu. Mind you, this is not your typical instant noodles soup. It is boiled with chicken within a certain period of time (you wouldn't want the meat to become too soggy and soft), letting all the superb chicken essence to flow out into the soup...

Adding a bit of Chinese herbs...

Some spring onions...

and EUREKA~!

Mummy went overboard by giving me four pieces of chicken...

I went overboard by consuming everything... *BURP*

Big Apple is HERE!

After those tiring, not-so-serene and bumpy ride of 4 and 1/2 hours, I can finally breathe the Penang's fragrance that I have been longing for... CHAR KUEY TEOW! Haha... I ate that in the car when we are on our way to the salon to trim my bushy, messy and extremely thick hair that I had been having for a few months now. Gosh... I really did miss home - from the familiar roads to the food stalls, from the people to the popular complexes and my family - it's been months since I last saw my Mum and Dad. Thankfully, they are in good shape and good health.

We went to Gurney Plaza for dinner and some shopping. I saw several new food outlets =D There is this BIG APPLE Doughnuts & Coffee, a new donut outlet which it has the similar logo and font to STARBUCKS. As usual, there were plenty of people crowding the entire outlet because people are seeking for something new to satisfy their empty and pitiful souls. Always the same of scene. We were there too. For one thing, the donuts there, just by appearance, look wayyy better than the ones in MISSY DONUTS. See for yourselves...

They were really REALLY GOOD! Seriously, the dough doesn't taste funny at all and it is really soft and the filling were so so good! Well.. except for the top left corner, that one is Iceberg - filled with the tingling sensation of vanilla, but to me, it just taste like cream with no flavor at all. We finished all six in 15minutes or so. We just have a knack for sweet things =)

Anyway, only three more weeks till finals arrived. I got to keep reminding myself that my semester break is a STUDY break and not a EATING FRENZY break. Just one night, I ate a whole lot! Control.... must control.... RESIST~~ *breathe in and out*

A Slothful Update

I'm just feeling so lazy to blog nowadays... actually just lazy to do anything at all. I'm just... sitting there... staring at my laptop.... hours after hours.... yeah, I know. It's not healthy. Anyway, just a very brief update on my very very short holiday.

Eat A LOT~! A lot as in until for a moment there I was afraid of good food.

Spend a lot of time meeting up with friends but always at the SAME place.
Love you, SIN and SOO. Can't wait to meet up with you guys again!

Went shopping with my Mum - She's on a mission to "feminine-ise" my wardrobe!

Read a spiritual book, entitled "CHARACTER".

Slept late - WEIRD for me because I sleep earlier in SJ.

Spoke to my two brothers - miss them.

So that wraps up my two weeks in Penang. I'm going to Sabah tomorrow! I am pretty excited and nervous about that. Classes starts next week!!! Where has all the time gone to?

The Lair Awaits

Hibiscus blooming, Salmon fish and prawns on the table, first day covers stacking up for me to sort, a pile of clothes waiting for me to iron... Yupe... I am definitely home!

Whenever I reached Sungai Nibong and got out of the bus, my Mum will always, I do mean ALWAYS, say these two things, "Girl, you gained/lost weight" and "Girl, you need a haircut!"I guess that one of the little things I love about my Mum, so predictable at times. Hehe... She hasn't changed at all. =P

Dad wasn't home yet when I got back as he was out for his usual run. I can't believe that when he got back, all sweating and dripping wet, I went to hug him! Yes, it was sticky and wet... but Dad is Dad, he did lose some weight though...

Anyway, this post will be short, but here are some pictures of our dinner at TGI's Fridays yesterday with some friends to celebrate the end of examinations =) Food was awesome! Accompanied by a group of wacky and hilarious group of friends~!

Since I am a "dessertarian" (Is it a word?), I shall put the desserts first! *Slurp*

Desserts

Chocolate Chip Cookies with Vanilla Ice Cream

Chocolate Malt Cake

The Main Course (don't remember most of the names =P)

The Appetizers

The Wacky People

Outside TGI's Fridays

Grandpa Nick only smiles when there is alcohol in his hand~!

Yeap! We definitely having fun!

The entire group
(Yes being the devil that I am, I have two tiny horns on the back of my head!)

I have never seen Dennis (far right) this animated before!
From left - Da Yi, Peter and Dennis

What a lovely couple - Hamdi and Joshua

On the steps of TGI's

Hong Yong (hopefully I spelled it correctly) wants all the attention! LOL!

Pinky/Uncle Max/Maxine/Bumblebee/Frosty and the list goes on, seems to be blown away by a sense of wrath.....

All pictures are taken by this sweet girl, Hui Xuan~!