Chinese New Year in Malaysia

My final iphone uploads from Malaysia! Here's a summary of part 2 of my trip back home. Definitely a whole load of exciting places discovered and even more pictures taken!

A nice picture of your's truly taken at Iggy's Restaurant in Singapore. Bought a nice MNG dress that was on sale. Sequins, velvet and silk. Luxurious much? Hehe

Chinese New Year Eve dinner made by dad. Steamed salted chicken, chinese sausages, prawns, vegetables and steamed fish. Delicious food from home.

Hong bao aka red packets given by married individuals to their single family members (or the younger generation?). Managed to pay half of my retainers with the $$ that I have gathered hehe.

Snacking is a must at every house!

Shaved ice drizzled in syrup and topped with a variety of colourful toppings. A great way to cool off in Malaysia!

Cendol, another favourite to fight off the Malaysian heat.

Fireworks on just about every day in Malaysia.

Roasted duck from my aunty.. something so finger-licking good about authentic Malaysian fare.

Yours truly again. With photoshopped hair colour. Brownie anyone?

My collection of Guang Liang CDs...Malaysian talent ftw.

Found this old watch in a box. Childhood memories.

At Publika, one of the new hang out spots in Kuala Lumpur. Lots of places to sit and chat.

Prawn crackers from Setiawan. Sooo fresh!

Sugar cane and chrystanthemum tea drinks. Only during Chinese New Year.

Publika's toilets are sooo clean!

Malaysian krispy kreme...a tad flatter than the ones I get from Australia:/

Maggi in a cup. Haven't had it for soo long so must have!

I felt so calm when I took this picture. Was taken on the day I'm leaving Malaysia. Yes, twas a good holiday time:)

Back in Australia!

Got some new make up items. Gifted and can't wait to try them on:))

Regent Thai

Thai food strangely reminds me of Malaysian food, especially when identical spices are utilized in the dishes. Having said that, there are still so many culinary areas to explore as each region boasts about their own signature meal which many differ from other regions in Thailand.

I may not be able to recall every single detail about my Thailand trip back when I was little, but I sure do know where can you go to satisfy your inner Thai cravings. If you're looking for authentic and unpretentious Thai food, pop by Regent Thai on O'Connell Street! I have been here since 2008 and always look forward to dropping by whenever I am in the mood for a pinch of spice, acid and maybe a herb-y affair?

Regent Fried Rice~ This is a must have on my list when I do visit. I love the wonderfully cooked rice which encompasses a nice range of aromatics to keep it interesting! If you prefer your fried rice to be chilli hot or mild and subtle, do let the waitress know as they can accommodate your palate.

Talay Tom Yum Heang (hot and sour seafood) ~ we were feeling adventurous that day and decided to order a dish that was recommended by the waitress. Seafood was fresh and overall,I didn't find it to be extremely sour. Well balanced flavours, tick!

Mussaman chicken~ absolutely delicious and best eaten with rice as rice grains can absorb all the lovely curry gravy better. The chicken pieces were very tender and exhibited a melt-in-your-mouth texture. If you love curries, do try this out!

Prawn fritters with mango~ apologies if name is incorrect. It was on the specials menu and me being the blur dodo bird, I take no notice of the dish name but rather, the dish's description. Crunchy prawn fritters paired with fresh mango and herb trimmings sets the tone to this classic-turned-modern dish. It is a tad more expensive than the other dishes but it did not leave me disappointed at all:)

Sticky rice with mango ~ I love this dessert albeit the initial thought of it as a savoury dish. The rice was not overly sticky or sweet and hence,  complemented the mango and coconut cream nicely.

Coconut ice cream~ definitely a different approach to ice cream. I never had coconut flavoured ice cream before and I thought this one is quite subtle and probably a nice way to end the entire dining experience.

Good service, excellent food and affordable prices. Why wait?:)

 

Malaysia I see you

Helloooo Malaysia! A very belated blogpost but better late than never right? Here are some snippets via my iphone. Loads more to come but until then, enjoy!

Airport~ I took the bus there and arrived early, waited for a good 2 hours before I could board and was definitely excited throughout the ride home!

I like clear blue skies~

Plane lunch~ not exactly a luxury but Malaysia Airlines (MAS) do serve decent meals. I have been boarding MAS since I was 5? and their meals have yet to disappoint me badly. Appetizers, main, desserts...not to mention their friendly cabin crew!

The plane was about 60% filled with people that day. I had the luxury of using 2 screens..felt like I'm in some multi-screen office corner hehe:)

"Chicken pie or Mexican roll", asked the flight stewardess. I said "chicken roll". 

Topshop!! I loveeeee youuuuuuu (and the sale, of course hehe)

I always had a thing for military clothes and couldn't keep my eyes off this one since I spotted it online. RM399 for this beauty. No, I didn't get it:(

My sister's favourite. She had it for 2 consecutive days. Damn she's awesome:)

Gong Cha bubble tea anyone? I have tried their signature green tea drink and am looking forward to trying their bubble teas soon. Any recommendations??:D

 

Lam fa fan and pak tong koh~ apparently the blue-ish colour is obtained from morning glory flower extracts which is added to glutinious rice prior to cooking. Delicious and cheap Nyonya sweets (for those who don't know, Nyonya refers to a culture which originates from the local Malay's intergrating their culture with the Chines traders whom travelled to Malaya).

Iggy's restaurant in Singapore~ rated top 30 in the world and it is located in nowhere else other than the swanky Hilton Hotel. I was superbly impressed with their exterior appearance.

I found thee H&M...but I didn't buy anything from you???! D; Wrong time for sure:(

Chanay Restaurant

Many apologies for not updating this site as often as I did. I have landed in Malaysia about 10 days ago and have been on an internet quota as it was more cost-effective to do so at home. Who needs the internet when you can spend quality time with your family and friends as well as do some well deserved shopping?!! Will update these little details in the next blogpost but for now, it's munch talk!

This restaurant used to be Thai oriented but had recently changed directions over the past few months. This time round, it is more Hong Kong based and although the taste may not be identical to the ones in Hong Kong, it is decent fare to obtain especially if you are craving for it. I have never been to Hong Kong (but am planning to head there one day) and when I do, it will be another food frenzy moment.

Hot and cold tea~ Apparently this is one of Hong Kong's signature drinks and if you have never had it in Hong Kong before, you are missing out (like me). The boy said it wasn't as good as the one he had in Hong Kong but I found this pretty good as it had a nice tea aroma to it.

Fried pork with rice~ another Hong Kong speciality and despite it's quirky choice of ingredients, it does appeal to a lot of people. Gooey cheesy goodness dripping on a bed of warm rice...a savoury, guilty pleasure indeed.

Claypot chicken rice~ the sauce is served separately and there is more than enough to splash all over the rice. Vegetable pieces were lightly blanched in water and one could tell that the chicken pieces were marinated prior to cooking it with the rice in the claypot.

Overall, the restaurant has a good selection of dishes and you may see unexpected items like spaghetti included in. This was my first visit there and I have yet to try everything on the menu so if you do drop by, do let me know how you find the place!:)

Celcius Restaurant and Bar

The only time you might be able to spot me tucking into a degustation menu would be during special events. As much as I like having a glass of wine with my exceptionally delicious meals, the thought of spending more than $50 for a meal aches me tremendously. However, when I do decide on indulging myself, I do not hesitate to choose a place that is on the talk-of-the-town list.

At Celcius, you can opt to have ala carte meals but on weekends, it is strictly degustation time so do check with the receptionist when you ring in for a reservation. I was running a bit late for my reservation but thankfully, the restaurant's receptionist was very understanding and offered to wait for us to arrive, regardless of how long we took. Thumbs up for a welcoming service prior to arrival!

We opted for the 8 course degustation menu which is about $125 per person, excluding wine matching. About 5 minutes after we placed our order, we were served warm house bread with knobs of plain butter and parlsey infused butter.The butter glided smoothly upon spreading on the fluffy, soft bread and I found it difficult to stop myself from hogging it all for myself.

Goats curd, cucumber, fennel, broad beans and herb ~ a very refreshing and light dish to start the degustation menu. Everything on the plate was fresh and still had a nice crispy crunch texture to it.

Tuna, pork, kohlrabi, lemon and ginger~ a seafood dish appears on the table and this dish tastes as good as it looks. All the individual elements complemented each other well and as you may observe from the picture, the piece of tuna is not overcooked at all.

Petit sapin, Jerusalem artichoke, chicken skin and lime finger~ I am trying to find the name of this dish on the restaurant's online menu and I am not sure if what I got is right. The chicken pate wasn't as heavy and filling as I had expected it to be (I might be cultivating an interest for pate?) and the chicken skin is wafer thin and very fragile, a nice sensation which easily found it's way into my mouth. There are quite a few crunchy components on this dish such as the garlic crisps and mini swirls.

Lamb sweetbread, globe artichoke, pear, rainbow chard~ From memory, the yellow sauce is composed of corn puree whilst the orange-ish red sauce is made of capsicum puree. These brilliantly coloured sauces made what is a seemingly dull dish appear pleasing to the eye. Lamb sweetbread pieces were moist and very flavourful indeed.

Duck breast, beetroot, cherry vinegar and olive liquorice~ there is something magical about using beetroot. Not only does it add colour and texture to a dish but it seems to have a very subtle sweetness to it which often, goes well with stronger poultry flavours. The duck breast was very juicy and well marinated with the accompanying sauce. Probably one of my favourite dishes for the night.

Milkfed Berkshire pork, sweet potato, red cabbage and leek ~ The only time I would ever eat (and enjoy) a good slab of pork fat is when it is well prepared. I had no problems cleaning my plate and this dish is a nice addition to my degustation experience, after having the duck dish previously. One again, the chef did not think twice about adding crunchy and creamy elements on the plate and it has been executed brilliantly.

Cake with pineapple, meringue and passionfruit~ I am looking forward to having 2 desserts today. One might think that there is a little too much acid prancing on the plate but I think the meringue and cake somehow eased the sourness by quite a bit and still managed to showcase the fruit's unique characteristics.

Chocolate, honeycomb, vanilla and toasted custard~ just when you thought it ended well for the night, the waitress brings out a jug of warm custard and pours it all over your chocolate! The chocolate has been tempered and hence, oozed away as the warm custard breaks it apart to exhibit a moist, sinful cake hiding under that chocolate shell. The custard and vanilla ice cream contrasted nicely against the heavy, strong tasting cake. Another enjoyable dish of the night.

Overall, we had a good time at Celcius. The relaxing ambience, delicious food and accommodating service made our weekend worth waiting for after working everyday during the week. I can get used to this. Time to rake up some serious cold cash.