Intai-Intai

It has been a very disturbing week for me and I have spent a few sessions educating people... including Ayu's family. We were seated watching TV when the news showed the burning of the churches. Ayu then condemns the act and states that it was silly to claim right over the word. Immediately her elder sister defended saying that it was their right and only they have the right to the word. It was very painful to my ears... I just dislike misinformed arguments. So, I broke my silence and gave all of them a very brief lesson in history and ethics. And it was total silence after that... I wonder which shocked them more? The fact that I broke my silence or the fact that I gave them a history and ethics lesson. I just wish people would seek knowledge... then we would have a more peaceful world.

Anyway, yesterday I went to Intai-Intai... the place that I couldn't find the last time. Here's the location if you wanna go there. It's a pretty cool place surrounding a pond. Wasn't crowded. Food came very-very fast. The menu is mainly Thai. I ordered the Tom Yum, Chicken with Pepper, Thai Omelette, Mango Kerabu and a Butter Prawn. Those dishes with 2 drinks a hot tea and an extra rice came up to about RM80. The food was good with the exception of the Chicken with Pepper which was way too oily.

This is the 'chandelier' for the lack of a better word... or lamp or whatever... quite cool looking huh?!

Tea light candle-la-bras at each table to set the mood and also to help you see what you're actually eating during dinner. Hahaha...

This is the other side of the restaurant, the entrance side, taken from where I was seated. The restaurant is a semi-circle around the pond.

The butter prawns. It was absolutely marvelous. I cleaned the plate out... ate everything and I mean EVERYTHING... including the curry leaves. Everything was crispy... the shell of the prawns included. A must try....

The mango kerabu. It was very nice too. The only problem I had with it was that it was 'drowning' in dressing as you can see.

My drink... the Melon-Chee... watermelon juice with lychees. Very refreshing and one of my favourite drinks.

I'll definitely go back again to try the other dishes. Oh... one warning though... mosquitoes...

Gloomy Sunday

What a gloomy Sunday. I took my mom for a movie at Pavilion today. We watched Bodyguards and Assassins. It was slow... even my mom agreed. She says Ninja Assassin was better but I haven't seen that yet so I can't comment. After the movie I took my mom down to the food court area to see what she would have liked for lunch. We walked around a bit after which she decide that she wanted to have beef ball noodles at Jalan Tengkat Tung Shin. The place is called Ngau Kee. So off we went. I had the dry version and double... and I like to 'banjir' mine with their chilli sauce. Wow... damn syiok... my botak head was dripping with sweat. I'm salivating already...

Then after I sent my mom home I didn't feel too good so I just went home and lazed... and the weather didn't help either as you can see from the picture above.

For dinner, I decided to have something light since I wasn't feeling too good. So, I cooked myself a simple fish ball noodles. I think I need to get some rest and hopefully I'll feel better tomorrow...

Going Bananas...

Following yesterday's picture, I thought I'd try something different today... and I decided on a banana... why a banana? Well... I did see something like this before done by a professional so I thought I'd try to replicate it and see how difficult it actually was to shoot it. As it turned out... it's pretty simple actually. Same methodology as the apple shot. Only difference is the depth of field and for this shot I used a flat surface instead. I used f/22 for this shot as I wanted the banana to be sharp throughout and I think a flat surface is nicer.

I decided on the shot late in the evening. So after dinner I went to a few 7-Eleven's to try and get a Montel banana as they were longer and cleaner... but unfortunately they had sold out all their bananas. I guess the preference generally is for long and clean bananas. So I had no choice but to buy a whole comb of kontot bananas from the little convenience store at my apartment block. Therefore I am stuck with a kontot banana. Pun fully intended. Hahahahaha...

I must say I really like the picture... clean.

Anyway... back to reality... I dunno... I find myself hating this place so much these days. This place as in KL generally. Sigh... maybe I'll elaborate on this tomorrow.

An Apple A Day...

...keeps the boredom at bay.

I decided to do some still life photography and this apple is my first subject. I must say that I am quite pleased with the result.

The set up is very simple. I cleared my bed... that is push the pillows aside... then polished the apple a bit and placed it on the bed. Used my 50mm prime lens set at f/1.8 and at 1/60sec exposure. Flashed pointed upwards to the ceiling for bounce effect. Voila!

There's more at my Flickr page. I'm thinking a banana next...

Penang - Day 2

Last night was not very different. I still haven't gotten used to the bed. Another sleepless night. Sigh...

The rest of the training was fine... right until the end. I knew that there would be some play with emotions at the end and I was prepared. Or, at least I thought I was...

The facilitator shared a story about a boy who wanted so much to tell his dad that he loved his dad but somehow couldn't bring himself to do it but instead said "Goodnight" to his dad only to lose his dad to an accident the following day. And that was all it took to have me sobbing away like a big baby. I was definitely the first to get all teary-eyed and I think I was the only male who did. I couldn't help it... it seems like yesterday that I lost my dad.

Anyway, Nancy the facilitator gave me a big hug after that. She knew... I've known Nancy for over 10 years now. In fact she was the one who interviewed me during the buy-over back then.

I decided to leave tomorrow as I didn't want to get caught in the jam at the bridge and also because I wanted to catch my 9:00 pm TV3 drama. That also meant it was best not to venture out for dinner. So, I took a quick walk to the nearby shopping center and bought my dinner.

My dinner... a dinner plate. I actually prefer the 'Original' but somehow today I thought I'd try this instead.

Ha, ha, ha... and this is my dessert of course...

Penang - Day 1

Day one in Penang. Had a sleepless night. It's usual for me due to the new bed and environment. In the little sleep that I got I dreamt of a centipede. I never did finish the dream as it was interrupted by an SMS at 0223 hours by someone who wanted to tell me how efficient I was. At that hour? Aiyoh... I didn't get a sound sleep after that. I tossed and turned all night and the next thing I know it was time to wake up.

The training was okay. I've been through many similar trainings. This one helped refresh my memory and also put things in perspective on how to apply things differently with the new generation of employees.

For dinner, the host took us to Northam Beach Café. It was a food court actually but it sure had a wide selection of cuisines. Japanese, Italian, Chinese, etc. There was halal food but mostly non-halal. We ordered all kinds of food and everyone wanted to pay.

This is the ABC with ice cream. This is the only thing I managed to pay for. It cost RM32.00 for 6 of these... 4 with ice cream and 2 without. Not cheap actually but it was good.

Then I ordered a betul-betul ho liao... prawn noodles. It was damn good. I was so tempted to order another bowl for myself but when I saw what the rest had ordered, I changed my mind. There was so much food and it would all have gone to waste.

Thai-day Sunday...

It's a Sunday. Busy day for me as usual. Grocery shopping, cleaning and cooking. I decided to do Thai today... Tom Yum, Mango Kerabu and Fried Fish.

When I got home I cleaned the kitchen. I even cleaned the refrigerator... and that's when it happened. Wham! I had cleaned the cabinets but mindless me left the cabinet door ajar. I then proceeded to clean the fridge. As soon as I was done I stood up. Wham! Bang! I saw stars... literally... the pain was excruciating. Tears welled in my eyes. Serves you right for being so careless...

Here it is... it was swollen too... and yes, it bled. And I had my hair cut after I knocked my head... thankfully, the barber noticed it and was gentle with that part.

Anyway, despite my throbbing head I managed to clean the apartment and change the sheets and then started cooking.

This is the Mango Kerabu. A very simple version. You can add other ingredients to it to make it taste better like peanuts, ikan bilis or even dried shrimps. It's entirely up to you. Here's the recipe...

1 large young mango

6 shallots

1 serai

6 cili padi

2 limes, juiced

1 tbsp fish sauce

2 tbsp sugar

Julienne the mango and set aside. Slice the cili padi, shallots and serai finely. How much you use is a matter of preference. You can add or lessen the quantity. In a large bowl add all the ingredients and toss. You may need to add more sugar to taste. If you like you can add some chopped cilantro.

This is the Tom Yum. Plain looking as I was too lazy to chop cilantro for garnishing. Nak makan, bukan nak jual or enter a competition.

prawns
1 liter chicken stock
6 slices fresh galangal
2 serai, bruised
2 daun limau purut
10 cili padi
2 tomatoes, quartered
2 onions, quartered
4 limes, juiced
2 tbsp fish sauce
2 tbsp roasted chilli paste

In a pot bring your chicken stock to boil. Add the sliced galangal, serai, cili padi and onion. Tear the daun limau purut and add in. Add lime juice, fish sauce and roasted chili paste. Allow to boil for about 10 minutes or so for the flavours to infuse. Add tomatoes and allow to boil for a further 2 or 3 minutes. Add prawns, close lid and turn fire off. Done.

Adjust taste to your preference with lime juice and fish sauce. Lime juice for sourness and fish sauce for saltiness. Do not add more lime juice till after adding the tomatoes as the tomatoes will add to the sourness. Prawns has to be last and fire switched off immediately or it will be hard and overcooked. Oh... you can add other stuff in like oyster mushrooms, cauliflower and what not. Up to you lah.

Aglio e Olio

That's my dinner... it doesn't get any simpler than this when you're not having instant noodles. I'm getting hungry again as I type this. Just the thought of it makes me hungry. Such a simple dish yet so, so satisfying.

1. Cook your pasta according to the instructions on the packet. It's 6 minutes for this, vermicelli. However, I cooked it to 4 minutes and then cold shocked it in running tap water to stop it from cooking further. Then set it aside.

2. Chop some garlic (I used half a BULB) and cili padi (chili flakes if you prefer) and prepare 1 cup of chicken stock. I use Maggis' concentrated chicken stock where you add 1 tsp of the concentrated stock to 1 bowl of water.

3. Add olive oil generously to a pan. Heat should be moderate or the garlic will end up getting burnt and you'll end up with bitter sauce. Add the garlic and cili padi and saute till golden. If you have white wine, splash some in then add your chicken stock.

4. Add your pasta, cook for about 2 minutes or till your preferred doneness (and dryness) and season with crushed black pepper and salt. As you can see I like mine soaked in sauce.

Done. Bon Appetit.

Supplements...

I'm having problems with my memory again. I realised that I have not been taking my supplements for a very long time. So, I started taking these yesterday and next week I'll start with the rest again.

The Ugly Mutthafucker

Met an ex-colleague today and had coffee together while exchanging stories. In fact, too much coffee. I had 3 cups of brewed coffee on top of my daily cup early in the morning. The consequence.... was hyper all afternoon and didn't feel hungry till the late afternoon by which time it was no longer convenient to eat.

Back to the stories... Lembu punya susu, sapi punya nama... I had predicted this while I was in Kuantan. I knew without a doubt that I would not be there long enough to see the fruits of my labour. Somehow, I just knew it and I was right. Anyway, apparently my successor is a person who seems to like to bask in attention and is one who looks for personal glory. So this is a stark contrast compared to me who shies away from attention and personal glories.

It was rather amusing listening to all this come from someone who used to bitch about me and how I was supposedly 'indecisive'... just because I changed my mind about something. Well... as the saying goes... you never appreciate what you have until you've lost it.

I'll make a prediction here... I will turn this place around. The results will show and be very apparent but the credit will go to someone else... the story of my life. As long as the team gets the credit as well, I'm fine with it. As of last month, I am RM158K behind last year's PROFIT. So, by this month I would have exceeded last year by about RM500k and whatever we make in the next two months will be all extra.... and I think we will close RM1.5 million higher than last year in profits.

What did I do? Seriously, Jack Schitt... I merely played the role of Morpheus in The Matrix. I freed their minds... the minds of the team here and I got rid of their restraints. That's all I did. By the way... people say I look like Morpheus and some say I look like Yao Ming. Now I know how truly ugly I am... reminds me of Predator.. with Arnie saying, "You're one ugly mutthafucker!" No wonder I have no  luck with girls. Oh, well...

I got home close to prime time news... feeling absolutely famished. I wanted something fast to cook and good to eat... Maggi instant noodles. My usual 2 packets... double-whammy. My all-time favourite....

Naili's

I finished work pretty late today. I didn't feel like cooking as I was hungry so I thought I'd go out and have dinner. I fancied having something simple... maybe rice and a good soup. I thought of Naili's Place... the last time I was there they had a decent Sup Tulang. Just what I felt like having. So off I went... decided to go to the Ampang Point outlet figuring that it would be straight-forward if I took the AKLEH. Boy, was I wrong... for some reason there was a bottleneck getting off the AKLEH. I was stuck there for 30 minutes. My stomach rumbling away.

Cucur Ikan Bilis to start off. Love this... most people take it with the Thai Chilli sauce but I prefer it plain. It was gone in a mere minutes as I was so hungry.

My Sup Tulang. It's a very big bowl for RM8.00 and it had a lot of... yeah... bones... hahaha... and meat attached to the bones. I dunno... is it me or what but this didn't taste as good as the last time. But seriously, RM8.00 for this compared to the Cucur Ikan Bilis at RM6.00.

This is a SMALL Tom Yum at RM15.00. Okay it has squid and the bowl is a wee bit bigger than the Sup Tulang... but at almost double the price to justify 6 prawns? I dunno... something wrong with my values I think. Anyway, it was pretty decent Tom Yum for a paste-based soup. Good with steamed white rice.

Between the two soups, for this visit I prefer the Tom Yum. The Cucur Ikan Bilis is consistent.

Intai-Intai to Kunang-Kunang

I woke up early again today. Made my coffee and decided to watch my DVDs. I managed to finish Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and also Quantum of Solace. Brunch was sausages, burgers and drummets again. Then I did some cleaning and lazed around a bit.

By 3:30 pm, I was hungry again and decided to go out and have some sushi... yes Ampang Point again. By the time I got to Ampang Point it was 4:30 pm. Had my usual fare and then I decided to check out what was at CapSquare. There wasn't much to see there. I was in and out of that place in less than 30 minutes. I had my camera with me with just my 50 mm lens. I didn't feel like bringing the 55-250 mm zoom lens along as I didn't think there would be much use of it. I managed to snap a couple of shots without spending too much time looking for an appropriate angle. Here they are... nothing fancy... just straight forward and thoughtless shots.

A shot of the Petronas Twin Towers is a must... gee, I'm so Malaysian now. Just like how each and every local movie or drama MUST HAVE a Petronas Twin Tower background scene. Hahaha... and if you look at the left, that's proof that I was there.... as if I need to prove this to anyone. Hahaha...

Then there's the KL Tower... this is not so popular these days. I have some ideas for this but it will have to wait till I get a sturdy tripod.

Got myself a coffee at Starbuck's and left. Drove around a bit and was just about to head home when I thought of a place that I read about. It's called Intai-Intai... supposedly a well-kept secret. It's located somewhere along Jalan Ulu-Kelang. I came from Jalan Ampang and as I drove slowly on the left lane looking for signs of this restaurant I noticed the traffic building on the opposite direction. As I drove further down towards Setapak I realised that it is probably located on the opposite direction but since the traffic looked bad I decided not to make a U-turn. So I just drove on. I see the Muzium Orang Asli signboard so often and today I just decided to follow it and see where it was located.

I drive and drive following the signboard and the next thing I knew I was driving on Route 68. It took me all the way to Genting-Sempah. This route is no joke... kinda eerie and looks like a good place to dump dead bodies if you know what I mean. Winding like the Tapah route to Cameron Highlands and narrow too. I drove pretty slow since I was not familiar with the route. I arrived at Genting-Sempah just after 7:00 pm. Made a quick run to the washroom and quickly made my way back to KL.

I was starving by now so I decided to head on to Kunang-Kunang since it was the nearest place I could think of. I got to know of this place back when I used to plough the Karak highway regularly when I worked in Kuantan. Everytime I stopped to refuel at Shell, northbound on MRR2 just before you turn off to Karak Highway I would notice this restaurant as I pulled out of the petrol station. Eventually curiosity got the better of me and I stopped there one day and checked it out. It was oklah... garden a la feed-the-mosquitoes-while-you-dine concept. Just a note though which I think needs to be mentioned just in case. Not that I am a racist or anything... but in the few times I have been there I only saw Malays. So, if you're not comfortable then up to you lah. For me, I hantam je.... I kan Muhibbah?

Laksa Kedah... I think it was RM8.90++. It was very good the last time I was here but today, kurang sikit.

This is the Nasi Lemak Rendang Daging which I think was RM4.00++. No... I think it was RM4.00 extra for the rendang. A bit too much sliced serai in the rendang and a bit too much cardamom in my opinion.

The other side of the platter for a better view of the condiments. The ikan bilis was nice...

This is my favourite drink for this place... Watermelon Lychee. Totally refreshing and generous with their lychees too. The damage for those two dishes, my drink and a mango puree was RM32.00.

Bueno

This is my latest indulgence... Kinder Bueno. I had seen the ad on TV many times before but never did try it until lately when I was in Ipoh and was craving for a snack and this was the only thing left so I tried it. I am now hooked on it. Like I said before, I can't stop till I finish everything... and when I finished everything, I ended up being hyper and unable to sleep.

Oh... it's my late father's birthday today... Happy Birthday Dad... I miss you. :(

Cupcakes...

I love cupcakes... actually, not just cupcakes. I love all kinds of food. I love dessert. Many think that I don't because I always turn them down when they offer me sweets. I love chocolate. I love pineapple tarts. I love butter cookies. I love cakes. I guess I have a sweet tooth. So, why don't I indulge when I'm offered? Haaaa... I'll tell you why... when I start, there's no stopping until I finish everything. Hah! That's the problem. I stuffed my face with these cupcakes... they were nice, very nice. Thankfully I only had these two in my possession or it would have been a problem.

Chicken Curry

I felt like having some chicken curry so I looked for some recipes online. I wanted my chicken curry to be as simple as possible, meaning without me having to go and buy a shit-load of spices. The limitations were, I had to have those ingredients at home already or at the worst be able to buy it from the shop downstairs at my apartment. There was no 100% fit so I had to improvise and put my own recipe together.

Recipe

1 whole chicken cut into pieces

4 potatoes

2 tomatoes

2 star anise

4 cloves

2 inch cinnamon stick

5 sprigs curry leaves

2 serai, bruised

Ingredients to be ground

3 tbsp chili paste

1 large onion

5 cloves garlic

2 inches young ginger

1 inch kunyit

3 tbsp meat/chicken curry powder

10 cashewnuts

1 liter water

1 pkt coconut milk

seasoning

I had almost everything at home so I stopped by at the shop and bought what I didn't have which were curry leaves and the santan. I replaced candlenuts (buah keras) with cashewnuts.

As usual, I like to season my meat and let it marinade for a bit so I started with the chicken and marinated it with chicken stock granules.

Skin the potatoes. Quarter the potatoes and tomatoes and set aside. Then peel the ingredients to be ground and proceed to blend to a fine paste.

Heat some oil in a large pot, about 100ml or so. Throw in (not literally lah) the cinnamon, star anise, cloves, serai and curry leaves and sauté for a while. Then add in the grounded ingredients and stir-fry till fragrant and the oil begins to separate. This should be done on medium to low heat so your paste does not burn.

Add in the chicken and continue to fry for about 5 to 10 minutes until chicken is firm. Add in the water and bring to a simmer. Add your potatoes and continue to simmer at a low heat till potatoes and chicken are cooked. Add your tomatoes, cook for a few minutes then add your santan. Season to taste. As usual I season mine in the beginning and just add a touch at the end. I have stated 1 liter of water but you may need more so add more if you need to, depending on your preference on how thick you like your curry. It's easier to add water then to reduce your stock.

I was going to snap a picture with my DSLR but it was out of battery. I somehow left it on and it drained so I used my phone instead. This is after I added the tomatoes and santan.

Here it is, the final product. A picture taken with my phone too with the horrible LED flash.

I managed to charge my battery slightly and it had just enough juice to manage one shot. So, here it is.

My guests swear that it is good and even tapau-ed some home. And they say it is good enough for me to open a shop in the event I lose my job. Hahaha...

Beef Rendang

I got home early today to cook some rendang. I acquired a recipe from Hari Raya and decided to try it out. Did I mention that I love rendang? Heh, heh, heh... ada faham kah? Anyways, back to the recipe. You'll need the following:-

1kg beef, I used topside

2 small packets curry powder for meat or chicken, Adabi

1 inch galangal

10 serai

20 dried chilli, soaked

1 bulb garlic

20 shallots

1 inch young ginger

1 inch turmeric

500 ml water

2 pieces asam keping

1 daun kunyit, finely shredded

2 packets coconut milk

1 packet kerisik

seasoning

Some of the ingredients used. For those who don't know, starting clockwise at the top is serai (lemongrass), kunyit (turmeric), young ginger, lengkuas (galangal), shallots and garlic. Daun kunyit (turmeric leaf) and onion on top.

First of all, slice or cube your beef depending on how you like it. Keep in mind shrinkage over the long cooking process. My guess is almost 40% shrinkage. So if you slice it too small and thin then it would literally 'dissolve' by the end of it. Then marinate the beef with some seasoning and half the curry powder for at least 30 minutes.

Then proceed to peel and prepare the ground ingredients. I'd recommend you split it into two batches, the galangal and serai separate from the others. I'd also recommend that you slice the galangal and serai or even chop it up before blending. Two reasons for this... to preserve your blender's blade and to ensure that it is grounded fine. Obviously you'll need some water to blend the ingredients and that's where you can use the 500 ml of water.

Heat some oil in a large pot or wok, enough to sauté the ground ingredients. When the oil is smoking, add the ground ingredients and remaining curry powder and sauté till fragrant, about 15 minutes. Add the beef and when it begins to simmer add the asam keping, daun kunyit and coconut milk. Allow to simmer gently over a low fire till meat is tender and the mixture thick. I cooked mine for about 3 hours. Remember to stir occasionally to avoid the mixture from sticking and burning to the base. How thick the rendang should be is a matter of preference. Some like it very dry and some like it runny. Add the kerisik in the last 10 minutes of cooking and season to taste. When you've cooked often enough you tend to know how much seasoning is needed and when cooking braised dishes like this I prefer to add my seasoning in the beginning allowing room for 'fine-tuning' add the end. This way the meat will be more flavourful.

If you're too lazy to peel shallots then you can just replace them with large onions which is why there is a large onion there in the picture as I added that in.

This is the end result... slightly runny for me. Alamak, I am hungry already from this blog.

The Last Pig-Out?

Quite a busy day today. Went to work as usual... then I snuck off to send my car for an overdue auto detailing at CARS International in BTS. Then I hopped on the monorail back to office. At 2:00 pm I hopped on the monorail again to go pick the car up. I enjoy riding the monorail... actually I enjoy being in public as I love to observe and profile people. Those who don't know me would think that I am an asshole for the thoughts and remarks that come from my observation and profiling while those who DO know me would tell you that I am actually 10 times the asshole. Ha, ha, ha... I am a blunt person... it's my sincerity. So, if you can't handle the truth don't bother asking me my opinion. Anyway... I saw a few amusing things... one was a huge giant assed girl who shook with every step she took... reminds me of my childhood days and the 'Square Fruit Jelly' advertisement. And she seemed to take pride in every step that she took. Then there was this guy who planted himself in front me while I was seated on the train. He had so much confidence in him as if he thought he was Tom Cruise or Johnny Depp or what I don't know. Damn poyo! But alas the truth was... I had to look away. You know, I never forget a face.... but in his case I am willing to make an exception. Urgh!

Back to work. After my daily 4:00 pm meeting I indulged in some upgrading of my gadgets. I found out that my Garmin Mobile XT had an updated software and attempted to upgrade. I tried and tried and failed... tulah pasal pakai ciplak punye. Spent over an hour in vain. No choice so had to rollback to the previous version. Thankfully, it worked.

While I was doing my stuff and chatting on Skype my ass felt some tremors. I thought I was mistaken so I quickly grabbed my bottle of water and placed it on the table. My ass was right... there were tremors. So, I thought I'd wait till tomorrow to see if there was anything or just my imagination.

And off I went... home. Got home... took a peek out and decided that I'd take a shot of the Twin Towers again... this time without the lights. I think it looks cool without the lights on.

Since it was my last day of pigging out, supposingly lah... I decided to grab sushi. Looked it up on the mobile phone and set the navigation on and off I went to Sushi King at Ampang Point. Yeah, Ampang Point again. I needed to go to CIMB and HSBC so it was convenient. Just before I arrived, I heard over the radio that Sumatra was hit by an earthquake. So, my ass was right after all. This is the first time I've felt tremors other than the tremors from my fart lah. Cool...

At Sushi King I ordered my usual stuff... Calirfonia Maki, Tuna Mayo Maki, 2 California Temaki, 2 Soft Shell Crab Temaki, Agedashi Tofu and another Soft Shell Crab Temaki. Heh, heh, heh... yummy, yummy... with lots of wasabi with shoyu.

After dinner I did my banking. Then I was about to go home when just after I made the turn I saw Nasi Lemak Antarabangsa. It was just too tempting. I pulled over at an empty parking lot and apa lagi? Nolah... didn't eat there. I decided to take away. Nasi Lemak with Rendang Daging and Ayam Masak Merah. By the time I got home I was hungry again... need I say more? Heh, heh, heh... I know, I know... I am such a pig. Tell me something I don't know, please...

Then I lay on the sofa and watched The Sixth Sense... "I see stupid people..." eh, nolah... "I see dead people..." and the next thing I know... The Sixth Sense was watching me instead. Now I need to watch it again on DVD... I just love it.

McDeluxe?

I was at Ampang Park and was deciding what to have for dinner when I came across this. I found it quite amusing... McDeluxe... heh, heh, heh... and open 24 hours too. I wonder if they have anything other than McChicken, if you know what I mean... ha, ha, ha...

Anyways... back to dinner... it was either Nasi Lemak Antarabangsa or Manhattan's Fish Market. I finally decided on MFM since I've never tried it although the smell of the nasi lemak just next door was really inviting.

Manhattan Fish n Chips. There is a choice between Dory, Pollock or Cod fish. I opted for the Pollock which is RM16.90++. It was okay, nothing to shout about. The fries sucked... they were dry.

This is the Flaming Platter for One. It has a catch of the day, pan-fried and their 'award winning' flaming prawns served with buttered rice. They have a nice gimmick of flaming the prawns in front of you with a hand-held burner. I wonder who gave them the award for their prawns? It was just so-so... for RM27.90 I guess it is reasonable but the combination is bad. Way too creamy for me. Cream on the prawns, cream on the fish and buttered rice. I think I'll puke if I had to finish it. I just don't fancy creamy food. Oh, did I mention that the fries sucked? Heh, heh, heh...

I don't see myself going back there again...

Daging Masak Kicap & Ayam Masak Lemak Cili Padi

Tomorrow is grocery shopping day so I decided to clear the freezer. I had prawns, beef and chicken drumsticks in the freezer. A quick rummage through the refrigerator and I decided on the menu. It was to be Spicy Prawns, Daging Masak Kicap and Ayam Masak Lemak Cili Padi.

The Spicy Prawns. This is definitely a better picture compared to the previous one. Recipe is here...

Ayam Masak Lemak Cili Padi. I don't know what the authentic version is like but this is my adaptation from my memory based on what my mom taught me.

1 inch kunyit

15 cili padi

1 garlic

10 shallots

1 asam keping

1 serai

1 daun limau purut

1 cube chicken stock

1 tomato, quartered

1 nos coconut milk

Blend the ingredients. Bring the ingredients to boil with about 500ml of water and the chicken stock. Throw in the asam keping, serai, daun limau purut and chicken. Simmer till chicken is cooked. Add tomatoes then add coconut milk. Bring fire to a gentle simmer to avoid the coconut milk from curdling. Season to taste with salt and you're done.

Daging Masak Kicap. Again this is my adaptation done the Chinese way...

Marinade

1 tbsp light soy sauce

1 tbsp osyter sauce

1 tsp corn starch

pepper

1 dry chili

1 bulb garlic (whole, skin on)

1 star anise

2 cm cinnamon stick

4 cloves

1 large onion, quartered

1 tbsp dark soy sauce

2 tbsp light soy sauce

1 tbsp sugar or to taste

Slice the beef and marinate for about 30 minutes.

Heat some oil in a pot. Stir-fry the beef in very hot oil to seal the meat. Add about 500ml of water and add all remaining ingredients except sugar. Simmer till beef is tender adding water along the way if it is too thick. Add sugar to taste and you're done.

By the way... the garlic is thrown in whole for taste. If you peel it, very likely it will break up through the cooking process. The garlic is damn layan like this... syiok... kind of like roasted garlic.