Great Tips For Visiting Universal Studio Singapore (USS) & LUGE SKYLINE Sentosa Island on Christmas Eve

This post is not going to have any pictures of the rotating globe which is significant to Universal Studios around the world. You ain't going to see any selfie pictures with any mascot and pretty much there ain't going to be no pictures in this post! However, I'm going to share with you some really GREAT TIPS to make the most out of your USS Singapore trip. I'm going to list them out so that it's easier to read and stuff. Here goes:

1. Try to visit USS Singapore on Christmas Eve because the theme park is open from 10 am until 10pm. In short, you get to play all rides and possibly with no waiting time longer than 5-10 minutes for 12 freaking hours! There's no need for that Express Pass because there's literally like NO queue!

2. There was a Maybankcard discount if you buy online (for year end promotion starting in Nov - Dec) but I found a couple of awesome agents who offered great deals at a super cheap price - even after currency exchange. So that's a bargain.

3. Most people are not aware of this : You can ENTER and RE-ENTER USS multiple times throughout the day. Upon exiting, just inform the USS guys that you would like to re-enter later on and they'll stamp you an invisible stamp on your hand. The next time you want to re-enter, simply show your ticket and they'll scan with a blue light for your stamp on the hand. You get what I mean. The whole purpose of going out of USS is to get cheaper meals outside (within the Sentosa Island vicinity) and also possibly explore around the island too!

4. For food on the budget, don't bother eating inside of USS. Instead,  simply get out of USS and just on the right of the USS entrance, you'll see the Malaysian Food Street. The price is cheaper and you can have good meals. For Halal customers, there is one halal stall selling nasi lemak with chicken and roti canai. Since we had a $10 meal voucher and we already splurged a little at the Oasis Spice Cafe (Halal) which is located at USS Ancient Egypt, so we had snacks instead at Malaysian street : cendol and a kopi o beng (iced coffee) for like $5 total!

An average meal inside USS cafes or restaurant is like SGD10 minimum. The delicious North Indian meal I had at Oasis Spice Cafe with a mineral water and dessert cost me around $16. Meals at Malaysian Street Food for the halal Nasi Lemak with chicken is around $6. Other options around Sentosa Island which is within walking distance from USS entrance, you can go to McD or KFC (both are Halal) for prices ranging from $3-$10.

5. Initially, I was pretty disappointed that Battlestar Galactica roller coaster ride was not in service (this trip was made on 24 Dec 2013) because it's like the main highlight of Universal Studio Singapore but then again, I was thankful the ride was out. Right after Ancient Egypt ride, I got really dizzy and couldn't walk straight for a little while. Plus the weather was unusually hot and I started getting a headache from right after lunch until the evening. If I would have gone up Battlestar Galactice, I will absolutely puke along the way and it'll be a bad day.

6. I wasn't in the mood for taking photos with any mascots because it's like so kiddy stuffs, haha, and I'm just not interested in such things, so we decided to have 3 rounds of SKYLINE LUGE Sentosa for $20 . A single trip of the luge is only $12. To get to Skyline Luge, we took the Sentosa Express train and exit at Beach Station. All transportation in Sentosa Island is free so do make the most out of it.

7. We were tempted with iFly Singapore - an indoor skydiving at Beach Station but you have to spend a little more time there for training and then the skydive. Probably, we can give it a shot for next time. It's like once in a lifetime kind of thing, so yeah, this is a KIV for future trips.

8. By the time we were done with the Luge, it was almost 6 pm and we rushed back to re-enter USS for the Christmas street celebration. There were fake snow coming down from the sky and it was actually some soap bubbles and some of them got into my mouth and that was gross! Haha. It was really nothing like Christmas because we were really sticky and hot and there were too many people on the street taking selfies and we joined the selfie bandwagon too just for the heck of it. :)

9. For the rest of the evening, we continued on with other rides and shows that we missed. We finally finished up the USS tour around 9pm with our last ride on a junior roller coaster of Far Far Away. I must say, it was pretty scary to ride a roller coaster in the dark with your bag wedged in between your legs and you had to sit on the most front. It was a nice jolt of adrenaline to end the night in USS.

10. We ended the night with a quick dinner at McD (check map for location) because we were getting cranky, hungry and the halal nasi lemak just only finished. The McD dinner pretty much broke my NO McD pledge for almost a year. I was McD free for about a year until the one I had at Sentosa. For some reason, the burger actually tasted better than the McD I used to have in Malaysia. For that reason alone, I guess it wasn't a bad choice to have that burger anyway. That will be the last McD for me too, insya Allah.

In order to enjoy rides without spending queuing time for more than 10- 20 minutes, you should be able to do this :

Arrive early at the entrance just after 9 am. In between that you can take photos of that globe and look around for maps. By 9.30 am, you can start queuing at the Universal Studio Singapore entrance. At 10 am, the park is open and we rushed (like a typical Singaporean..hehe) to be the first to ride TRANSFORMERS: The Ride. We waited for like 10 minutes or so, it wasn't that long and Transformers was so much fun! If not for my headache, I would have done it again during that night because there was no queue at all.

Right after finishing Transformers, we didn't linger around that long at the gift shop and continued on our next ride: REVENGE OF THE MUMMY at the Ancient Egypt. We spotted the same guys who were queuing with us at the entrance and the Transformers and they were rushing the rides like us too. Some people are just crazy...we were too! Haha. Thanks to them they directed us towards available empty lockers for our bags and after another 10 minutes queue we got onto the ride. Upon exiting, we saw our faces on the screen, it was HILARIOUS. All of us got our eyes closed and mouth opened. Needless to say, nobody wanted to buy 'ugly' shots like that. Haha.

By the time we were done with these 2 rides, it was 11 am. Since we had a 6.30 am breakfast, so we had an early lunch which was a perfect timing because the restaurants are just opened and pretty much empty. How great is that! Still no queue.

After lunch we went for the our 3rd ride : Jurassic Park Rapids Adventure along with our bags. For some unknown reason, we didn't have to queue long again. For the bag situation, you can bring them along but they will advise that you will get wet. However the trick to not get soaking wet is to bring from home a raincoat/poncho or since the queue is not long at all, we could have just used the free 30 minutes locker at Ancient Egypt, but we didn't. The locker at Jurassic Park is not free and a poncho cost like $4 which can buy you an ala carte McD Double Cheese Burger inclusive of tax. Haha. So my awesome partner already eyed which side of the boat ride is going to make a person soaking wet, so we sat on the opposite side hoping that we didn't get drenched since she didn't have any poncho on. True enough, we only had our lower part of the trousers slightly wet and maybe one foot got a little wet too. That's all. It's not that much fun if you don't want to get wet but you still want to ride this rapid adventure because you are suppose to get wet. That's where the fun is. Haha. But we still had fun anyway by trying to duck our way, putting our feet up from the water. That for us is pretty much the 'adventure' element in this ride. Hehe.

The weather was really hot and don't bother to get on that dry pod thing because like everything else in USS, it will cost you money. You'll be walking in the hot sun like all the time and without you even know it, you will be dry. My jeans got dried pretty quickly.

Next was the Waterworld Show. This is a must watch show. Again, if you don't want to get wet, please proceed to the most top seating, thank you very much. :)

We completed other rides like Accelerator - Teacups, Madagascar : Crate Adventure Ride, Shrek 4D Adventure, Light! Camera! Action! and Enchanted Airways during the night with not much queue again. There are a couple more rides that we missed which was mainly the 'kiddy' rides ones and I think we didn't missed much at all.

For your bags:

You can bring them around to most rides even for Transformers. The only time you need to put them in the locker is for the Revenge Of the Mummy Ride. The locker here is FREE for the first 30 minutes and you can put them in again if you want to play the Jurassic Park Rapids Adventure ride. All in all, there is no pay to put your stuffs in the locker and one locker can fit around 2 average size bag pack if you squeeze them. ;)

For musolla :

There is one behind the lockers of Revenge of The Mummy. It's right next to the closed Battlestar ride. The musolla is clean with attached wudhu area and also with solat timetable. It's pretty proper. To enjoy your solat without the crowd is of course to solat on time. Be there for Zuhr right around 1 ish pm and the musolla will not be full of people, insya Allah. I suppose there is another musolla next to the Guest Serive for Annual Pass ticketing. I didn't get to check that one out.

For cheap USS ticket from an authorized dealer (online payment and ticket will be emailed to you):

Email to sis : lan_ieza@yahoo.com
The offer for Christmas eve last year was only RM 145 for adult. The online ticket from Resort World after the Maybank discount was about RM 160+ (exchange rate in Dec 2013 1SGD = MYR 2.60)

I Love Hummus!

Hummus with crushed basil eaten with spelt crackers

I think I had my first ever hummus like two years ago and it was delicious, an excellent lunch snack and I think it's healthy too! I don't think there is anything unhealthy when you are eating too much chickpeas and olive oil - which essentially is what hummus is all about.

To cut the long story short, since having tasted hummus for the first time, I started learning, tasting and discovering more on Mediterranean/Arabic dishes. Since then, I've made couscous, lamb mandi and a few attempts of hummus without the tahini or tahina. I have yet to make my own tahini, although I've stocked up on the sesame seeds ages ago. Probably I just need to get some chick peas to get me started with the tahini paste.

My version of the hummus : coarsely ground because that's the way I like it!

Hummus is real easy to make. All you need to have is some boiled chickpeas ( I don't really like can chickpeas), tahini ( can do without), garlic ( optional if you love the garlicy taste, I just avoid it because I don't want to have bad breath), good extra virgin olive oil, salt, paparika(optional). With all these ingredients, simply blend them in a food processor or a blender until it is smooth and silky. I made the one above a bit chunky because that's how I like eating my beans or nuts - haha. You know like chunky peanut butter, so yeah, it's the same way with hummus.

If you grow up eating boiled chickpeas with salt like I do, probably you should give hummus a try. In fact, even if you've never had hummus in your life, you really should give it a try. It's delicious and there are so many other hummus recipes out there. There are easy to make, fast and didn't I just say that hummus is so delicious!

Photo Of The Day : Flat White Coffee

The best thing to wake up to in the morning - a nice hot cup of Flat White!

The typical selection of coffee you'll get to choose in the cafes around NZ and I believe also in Australia.

Maybe that's not a best looking picture to represent a Flat White but the taste is simply amazing and gives you a quick run to the toilet right after :). A Flat White if you must know is a combination of espresso and milk - usually it's called a latte.

This is a super quick post and have a great day ahead peeps!

Photo Travel : Feijoa Fruit From New Zealand

Feijoa Fruit

I had my first ever taste of this fruit - the Feijoa during my previous trip to New Zealand. It was also the first time I have ever heard of such a fruit. Apparently, if I can remember this correctly, Feijoa tree is a pretty common garden plant for people living in the North Island of New Zealand ( I think :)).

We received a bag full of feijoas from some friends right out from their backyard and of course they do sell them at the supermarket as well. As for the taste of it, I think it is a bit like the kiwi fruit but with a different texture and a slightly more tangy, sour taste. Some feijoas can be really sweet too and I think I would prefer the sweeter feijoas version a lot more.

In New Zealand, when you buy kiwi fruits, it will come in a pack with a special spoon which makes it easy for you to cut the fruit in half and scoop the juicy kiwis with the tiny spoon. Similarly, that is the way you cut and eat your feijoas too.

 Kiwi and the spoon

For more about Feijoa, read more here from Wiki.

*Note : In Malaysia, I've seen Feijoa fruit being sold at Cold Storage for a crazy price tag. If you are curious to what Feijoa tastes like, probably you should try to get it. Even if you are a Kiwi living in KL and is missing home badly, probably you should buy it too. :)

100% Beef Burger Tortilla Wrap Recipe

[caption id="attachment_2833" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Ready to eat tortilla wrap cheese burger"][/caption]

I made this super yummy and healthy ( I think) 100% Beef Burger wrapped with tortilla a couple of weeks back. The size of the burger may look small but it is full enough for my stomach.

Making the 100% Beef Patty

To make this burger patty is super easy.All you need is a food processor in the kitchen and let it grind down to a mince and season the minced beef with some mix herbs, salt and pepper. Make and shape the meat into a round patty and let is sit for a bit in the fridge. If you want a cheesy burger, make a tiny hole in the middle of the patty and squeeze through whatever cheese you have on the fridge ( I used cheddar cheese) inside the patty. This will make a nice melted cheesy burger that comes oozing out from the middle of the patty.

If you don't have a food processor you can get some minced meat from the supermarket and hopefully they are 100% meat. Most burger patties are made with a combination of 80% meat and 20% fat and with the fat comes flavour. However, if you can have 100% beef, why not go for it right?

How to cook your burger? Steam it!

Get a non-stick pan or a grill pan or any kind of stainless steel pan will also do. Heat up the pan and oil the pan a little bit. Cook the beef patty over the hot oil and pan, let it brown a little bit. Since the patty is going to be rather chubby, you need to properly cook the insides, hence you'll need to cover the pan with a lid. Let the patty steam for a couple of minutes and turn sides and remember to steam with a lid again. Both sides looking nice and brown, smelling delicious and it's done!

Wrapping the burger with Tortilla and vegs

[caption id="attachment_2831" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Tortilla wrap with 100 percent beef burger onion rigs and vegs"][/caption]

Heat up your tortilla over the pan and when it's done, toss the cooked patty in the middle of the round tortilla. Toss a bit of vegs or salad of choice and since I love everything hot and spicy, I pour a good portion of Extra Hot Nandos Peri Peri sauce over the burger and mix with another sweet and hot sauce (Lingam's sauce - only found in Malaysia, I think) and fold the sides of the tortilla to the middle and it's ready to eat!

[caption id="attachment_2832" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Top view of the 100 percent cheese beef burger tortilla wrap with oozing melted cheese coming out from the patty"][/caption]

Oh, I also sliced a whole onion into thin slices and separate them into individual rings, toss them over some flour and fry. You'll get yourself some really crunchy and sweet onion rigs. Put it as toppings for your burger patty and Enjoy!

This is a super easy recipe, fast to make and as always I only spend max of 30 minutes in the kitchen to whip up an awesome dish. Happy cooking and eating everyone!

Fish and Chips with Smashed Peas Recipe

Fish and Chips with Smashed Peas Recipe



I haven't posted anything food recipes related for a long time and seriously there is no set focus on this blog. Never has that been the intention anyways. So, back to the Fish and Chips with Smashed peas recipe, I got someone who asked me for the recipe and here goes.

Ingredients :

A bag of Dory Fish ( 3-5 pieces in a bag, depends) . The thing about frozen dory in a bag,  it has a fishy smell. For those with sensitive nose and taste buds where you can't stand the fishy smell, the trick is to soak the dory in a bowl of water and flour mixture for sometime and drain the water afterwards.

Frozen peas ( a bag of 500g) or mix it together with broad beans ( which is like RM 8 for a bag of 500g, in my standard that is freaking expensive, but broad beans are delicious)

Butter or Cream

Flour

Coke/Sparkling water

Salt and pepper

To make the fish batter :

Originally this is a beer battered fish. But the version I made is the non-alcoholic version and I swapped the ingredients with coke instead. You can also use some sparkling water for the batter.

Wipe the fish dry with a kitchen towel because you don't want the oil to go all crazy when you start frying something with water on it. Lightly salt and pepper the sides of the fish.

Meanwhile, mix a bit of coke ( about 3-4 table spoons, depends on you really) with the flour. Mix the two ingredients well.

Then toss the fish into the coke and flour batter and make a second coat by tossing it around plain flour ( do it on a separate plate) and finally deep fry the fish until golden brown.

Next you can fry the chips and I specifically choose a big cut fries because that's how it's eaten. Never have I seen anywhere in the UK that fish is served with those skinny cut fries. It's a big no! :)

For the Smashed Peas  :

Over a boiling water, throw in the peas along with some cloves of garlic. Boil them until they become soft enough to mash. Drain it out and mashed it straight out from the pot. In that case, you'll have less things to wash. Throw in some butter or cream, pepper and salt to taste and mashed everything together. I prefer them to be slightly chunky and it looks more rustic that way.

Plate everything up. Being Asian, I love to dip the chips with something hot and my choice of a ketchup is Nandos Peri Peri Extra Hot chilli sauce which you can buy either at Tesco or Giant for about RM 10. Originally, the chips are eaten simply with salt and vinegar or HP Sauce. But I doubt HP Sauce is Halal and  it is not even spicy so Nandos Peri Peri Extra Hot chilli sauce is the best bet.

It is a very simple recipe. Don't bother much about staying low on the calories here. Hehe. Another tips, if you have a frozen fish and chips, best to thawed them in the microwave under low heat because you'll get the most of the frozen ice bits of the fish and chips, ready for the super hot frying oil.

Foodie Road Trip : Pak Man Mee Kuah Ketam To'kun, Bukit Mertajam| Penang

My friends from Penang highly recommended this place : Pak Man Mee Kuah Ketam To'kun located at Bukit Mertajam, Penang. The best time to eat Mee Ketam To'kun is by noon, especially after you had a bucket full of sweats hiking up the very steep hill of Bukit Tokun, BM.

This is going to be a picture treat for everyone and so let's the pictures do the talking!

[caption id="attachment_2716" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Pak Man Mee Kuah Ketam To'kun, Bukit Mertajam. Mee Ketam sales begin at noon."][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2717" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Mee Kuah Ketam Pak Man - the whole menu and respective pictures"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2718" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="The prep station"][/caption]

We got all the time in the world to snap everything around the shop because the Mee Ketam has not arrived yet and so we waited patiently for about 30 minutes for the dish to come. Apparently, the whole cooking process was done elsewhere and the next thing we knew, we saw a couple of Pak Man's workers pushing a tricycle cart right from the street.

[caption id="attachment_2719" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="The kuah mee ketam and everything for the whole dish coming in a tricycle cart! This is really old school!"][/caption]

These are some of the things that came out from the cart :

[caption id="attachment_2720" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="The secret and most important ingredient - Kuah Mee Ketam in a big pot!"][/caption]

The whole kuah pot is transferred here to keep hot



And the Mee Kuah Ketam will not be a Mee Kuah Ketam without the Ketam (Crabs)

[caption id="attachment_2722" align="aligncenter" width="168" caption="Crabs for the Mee Ketam Tokun"][/caption]

Alright, when is the Mee Kuah Ketam Pak Man picture coming??? Okay, here goes :

[caption id="attachment_2723" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Finally, Mee Kuah Ketam Special Pak Man! Yum!"][/caption]

If you look closely at this picture, this is a complete meal and only order Mee Kuah Ketam Special, priced at RM 7 if you are dead hungry. The pasembor, potato , half an egg, noodle, crab, prawns and the kuah (gravy) are going to make your stomach full. Despite burning hundreds or perhaps thousands of calories hiking up Bukit Tokun earlier that morning, I was struggling to finish this mee ketam up. Probably it was the pasembor combo of this meal that makes it hard to finish since I'm not a big fan of pasembor. Hehe.

Other dishes that the gang ordered were these :

Mee Goreng Ketam

[caption id="attachment_2724" align="aligncenter" width="168" caption="Mee Goreng Ketam - the gravy comes separately in a bowl"][/caption]

and Mee Goreng

[caption id="attachment_2726" align="aligncenter" width="168" caption="Mee goreng. Obviously, the one who ordered mee goreng was our Penang friend who probably had eaten a bit too many of Mee Kuah Ketam at Pak Man. Hihi."][/caption]

Last but not least, the end result of our little Mee Kuah Ketam Pak Man session :

[caption id="attachment_2727" align="aligncenter" width="168" caption="Messy plates with crab shells, prawn shells and the hard to finish carb - potato from the Pasembor."][/caption]

If I have to rate Mee Kuah Ketam Pak Man , I'm going to give it : 4/5

With RM 7 (Mee Kuah Ketam Special) - a plate with a medium sized crab, 2 prawns, pasembor and the generous amount of gravy, I think it is really worth the money. If you are a big time fan of mee kuah, this is something you have to try at Cherok To'kun, Bukit Mertajam, Penang. I have to say the gravy has an acquired taste that was completely new to my palate because I'm the tomyam/ laksa/ bihun sup daging fan.

Directions to Mee Kuah Ketam Pak Tam : I have no idea of its direction so you going to have to do a bit of homework for that. Although I can bet that if you ask around from locals, they can give you the direction because this place is THE place locals will go for a mee ketam fix.

Pak Man Mee Kuah Ketam is something to look forward to when you are down in Penang. Make sure you give this place a little hunt and try out the dish. It will be worth all the effort.

Happy New Year 2012, Everybody! - A Celebration of North Indian cuisines with the BBQ

Happy New Year 2012 Everybody!

I know I'm like four days late to do this shout out but it's better late than never. How was your New Year celebration? I hope it was great enough to keep you going and pumping with excitements throughout this year!

My celebration was fantastic. It was fantastic because we being a true Malaysian celebrated the coming of the new year with a simple yet delicious home cooked dinner at home. We had some tandoori chickens on the BBQ, chicken tikka masala, raita, papadoms, rice, some fried vegs, and 'siakap bakar' ( grilled Barramundi, I think that's what it's called in English) and cold Root Beers with ice creams for desserts.

So all in all, we had an outdoor dinner right on the front yard with the main theme of North Indian dishes. Of course we had to have the BBQ  for the boys to start playing with fire and that's just more than enough excuse to have the tandoori chickens too. Initially we wanted to buy some Roti Naan (Naan Breads) from the nearest Mamak shop to compliment the tandoori but thankfully we were all out of hands and if we did get some Naan breads, I think we would have an awfully stuffed tummy hours before the countdown of the new year begins.

I had a splendid pigging out session with my family during New Year's Eve and I think we badly needed that little time to have everybody finally sitting together at the same time and have a good meal to kick start the New Year.

So here goes the pictures.  Some really decent ones that I'm really willing to share with the general public. Haha.

[caption id="attachment_2614" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="A bowl full of heavily gravy-ed Chicken Tikka Masala, Papadom and some diced cucumber to make the raita"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2615" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="All in a plate - rice, chicken tikka, papadom and raita minus the fish and tandoori"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2616" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Tandoori chicken on bbq - very Malaysian style lah!"][/caption]

 

Finally, let's have a wonderful, happy, healthy, wealthy, lots of travel and more adventures for this year 2012! Happy New Year 2012 Everybody :)

 

My Personal Taste Bud Rating Over Penang Road Famous Teochew Cendol

Penang Road Famous Teochew Cendol! What do I think about it?

[caption id="attachment_2525" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Penang Road Famous Teochew Cendul. What do you think about this cendul?"][/caption]

My take is it was alright. Okay-lah kind of rating!  I thought I've tasted something better than that. Hehe. Probably because we ordered the cendol without the kacang so it kinda have a missing ingredient. Also, it is a strictly hawker style cendol stall and yes, you have to line up by the busy roadside to order, grab a bowl, stand and gobble up your cendol while watching out your backside for incoming vehicles from your front or back. It is one of those quick slurps kind of cendul eating and something you can't really take your time to really indulge. No, not this place.

[caption id="attachment_2526" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Order up and gobble down your cendul while standing"][/caption]

Whatever it is, my taste bud has tasted a much better tasting cendol which is :

1. Nyonya Cendol  at Oceon Cafe in Melaka with its really thick Gula Melaka that gives it an extra edge than other standard cendol.

[caption id="attachment_2528" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Nyonya Style Cendol by Ocean Cafe Melaka - loaded with thick and sweet Gula Melaka"][/caption]

2. Cendol James located right smack at my hometown in front of the Sitiawan Hindu Temple . I don't know man, there is something about James Cendol that seems to be so perfect to have on a blistering hot day to quench your thirst with some sugary, iced cendol.

[caption id="attachment_2531" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Cendol James At Sitiawan Temple"][/caption]

Anyway, enjoy the Cendol pictures ya'll. I bet you will be hunting down for some cendol when you are reading this post. :) Happy Cendol-ing!

Road Trip Down Memory Lane! Guess Where I Am Heading?

I'm so excited for the road trip tomorrow and yeah, it is going to be one of those road trip down the memory lane kind of thing. I hope to have some time in between the road trip to blog about things and yeah I'm really super excited about it.

Another big thing worth mentioning is that, my birthday is coming up in a couple of days and I think I'm going to have a jolly good time hanging out with people that I love to be around with. We are an adventurous and outdoorsy kind of people which makes twice the fun, not to mention the place I'm heading to is the food heaven of the Peninsular Malaysia. Haha. Therefore, I'm going with good energy, great vibes and great times, safe driving, good stomach and awesome company.

Road trips are really a heck of a lot of fun especially when you get to do it with a bunch of good friend who are ready to rock and roll it! At this point of my life now, I'm really thankful that I actually get to meet and be friends with these awesome people and I'm looking forward to always have more road trips or adventures with you lot. You know who you are! You guys rock!

* A little hint of where I'm heading! :)

[caption id="attachment_2498" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Ferry crossing! Guess where this is? It's a super easy hint!"][/caption]

How To Make Masala Chai

How to Make Masala Chai :

This is a recipe I picked up from one of the cooking shows over at Travel and Living Channel (TLC). Chai essentially means tea and Masala Chai is a perfect combination of spices mixed over a boiling water of black tea.

Here are the ingredients needed to make your very own Masala Chai at home :

• loose black tea is much preferred than one of those in the tea bags


• a couple pods of green cardamoms


• some slices of ginger


• a couple of cinnamon sticks


• some black pepper corns

Methods :

• Heat some water in a pot until it comes to a boil


• Then, pour in all the ingredients mentioned above : black tea, cardamoms, ginger, cinnamon sticks, black pepper corns and turn off the heat.


• Let the tea and the whole mix steep for a couple of minutes ( probably about 5 minutes)


• Add sugar and milk


• Sift and pour over a cup and enjoy your Masala Chai

As long as you have all the basic ingredients handy around the kitchen pantry, Masala Chai is really dead easy and simple to make. Best of all it is way cheaper than the one in the coffee shops. With the combination of cardamoms and ginger, that is a sure way to release heat and gas out of your system. Moreover, the pepper corns brings out a bit of heat in the chai and I think that gives this Masala Chai a bit of a kick with an overall taste of spice and flavour in a milk tea.This recipe on How To Make Masala Chai is a difinite must try for all you tea lovers out there and happy drinking!

Photo Travel : Teh Botol Sosro, Indonesia

Teh Botol Sosro - you couldn't get any more Indonesian than that!

[caption id="attachment_2389" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Teh botol Sosro Jasmine Tea - Indonesian popular drink"][/caption]

Teh Botol Sosro is loosely translated as Bottled Tea ( Teh = Tea, Botol = Bottle;  Indonesian is easy to learn huh? ). When it boils down to the exact taste of Teh Botol it is actually a Jasmine Flavoured Tea, best to drink it cold and this Teh Botol is like a much better version of the typical Iced Lemon tea. The smell of Jasmine in the tea is pretty strong and for that I love this Teh Botol hands down.

If you would like  to discover just a miniscule taste of Indonesia, I guess having a sip of Teh Botol can kick start your adventure, journey and discovery of Indonesia. And yes, Teh Botol Sosro is a MUST beverage to taste if you are visiting Indonesia or if you can ever find one in your nearest Indonesian grocery store around your place. It is THAT good and if you love flavoured tea like yours truly, having a go at Teh Botol is a definite must. It will not let you down. :)

I couldn't stress this more - Teh Botol Sosro : You couldn't get any more Indonesian from that drink! I simply love it.

Foodie Road Trip : Nasi Kandar Line Clear, Penang Road - The Best Ever!

The latest of the foodie road trip, brought me to the island of pearls - Penang Island, Malaysia. Penang is THE place to head down to up north the peninsular Malaysia for the melting pot, totally only found in Malaysia, super delicious varieties of food! One dish you must always have a try in Penang is none other than the Nasi Kandar. Among one of the best Nasi Kandar in the city center of Penang is Nasi Kandar Line Clear.

[caption id="attachment_2369" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Nasi Kandar Line Clear at Penang Road - By far the one of the best Nasi Kandar in Penang! A must place to eat in Penang."][/caption]

This tiny restaurant is located along Penang Road just a couple of walk away from the Chowrasta Bazaar. It is basically sandwiched between another nasi kandar restaurant ( Nasi Kandar Yasmeen) and a shop lot. The easiest landmark to get to Penang Road is to head for Komtar - the tall white tower which is visible from the ferry ride towards Penang Island as you are approaching near the jetty.

 

[caption id="attachment_2370" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Nasi Kandar Line Clear is part of Penang's Heritage Restaurant and it has been in business since 1930"][/caption]

Line Clear has been serving its totally delicious nasi kandar and arrays of curries along with it since the 1930. Any businesses that have been going on for that long is a sure way to tell that it got to be good and yes they are among one of the best in town.

 

[caption id="attachment_2371" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Line Clear lunch hour queue"][/caption]

Nasi Kandar Line Clear is opened 24 hours around the clock and the dishes are cook hot and fresh on site. I couldn't get a picture of the food selections because of the lunch hour queue. In general you can choose to have plain rice with any choice of food/curries that you like or you can opt for the briyani rice. Some of the selections always readily available on the menus are super huge fish head curry, honey chicken, fried chicken, kurma, black chicken, curry chicken, mutton curry, fish curry, fried fish roe, selections of fried vegetables, eggs omelette and many more.

[caption id="attachment_2373" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Some of the dishes we picked up - Curry Chicken, Honey Chicken, Fried Chicken Mamak Style, Huge Spicy Red Prawn"][/caption]

My favourite choice for an awesome plate of  Nasi Kandar will usually be half plain white rice ( I always order half because the portion of rice is really huge), honey chicken, fried cabbage and the best of all is to request for 'kuah campur' - literally translated as 'mix gravy/curry' where you pour every single curries available on your plate of rice. By putting the 'curries' all the way on the plate, you get to taste the different flavour of spices, sweet, sour, and most importantly it's hot and spicy just how we Malaysians love it. We love our food hot and spicy man! And to quench your thirst and to overcome the heat of the nasi kandar, my pledge to you is to always order a 'teh tarik ais' (iced pulled tea). Penang's mamak style teh tarik ais is simply the best. It's cold, sweet, and a milky tea. Quite mutually agreed by many as the best combination to have with a plate of nasi kandar!

There you go , a little review of Nasi Kandar Line Clear only and only available by the roadside of Penang Road in Penang Island! If you are down in Penang Island, do hunt down for Nasi Kandar Line Clear. Ask around the locals for direction if you are lost and they may even give you other tips on better and new nasi kandar places to hunt down to!

I'm On A Meat Eating Diet Streak!

For the past couple of months, I think I have successfully lost a 'big' amount of weight and when I say 'big' it is actually a small figure comparatively to other normal, average people. The reason is simple - I am one of those people skinny people who struggle to gain even a kilo and losing even just a precious kilo can pretty much leaves me feeling lethargic and less energetic in a whole. Thus, for the sake of gaining quick kilos, I have decided to start eating more meat. And yes, I am officially on a meat eating diet streak! Welcome Read Meat!

By far, I have been taking in sugary soda drinks, lots of chocolates and chocolates cookies, cookies of all range, oily crisps and the best part of all less and less vegetables although I have managed to squeeze in a single fruit portion into the daily diet. Haha. So far, I am not seeing any increase on the weight and I wonder how far this is going to eventually 'hurt' my stomach.

Anyways, at the moment I am loving my meat and I shall have some hopefully delicious, juicy, tender and it melts in your mouth, 1 day old marinated steak for dinner tonight. Oh man, I'm salivating just thinking about it. Until more food updates to come and happy eating!

Spaghetti Crayfish Recipe in 30 Minutes

It's time again for a quick cook up for just 30 minutes.Trust me this is one super delicious meal you can whip up for lunch or dinner today. Let's get started with the Spaghetti Crayfish Recipe:

1. Get you hands on some fresh crayfish or some freshly cooked ones.

[caption id="attachment_2353" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Get your hands on some freshly cooked crayfish. We got one from a lady selling seafood along the coastal, sea view road from Kaikoura, New Zealand heading up north."][/caption]

 

2. The choice of pasta is totally up to you. For this version, I was actually using egg noodles because I just felt like it.Haha. You see cooking is fun and just go about with what you feel like having for the day and cook around it. Follow the cooking instructions for your pasta usually written on the cover of the pasta bag and it shouldn't take more than 12 minutes or so.

3. For the pasta or spaghetti sauce, these are the things that I used:

- I'm Asian and I love it spicy and hot, hence the red chilli is a must have. Chopped it up small for the extra kick of heat in the sauce and the other extra ingredient is to add on a couple of tea spoons of spicy curry powder. The curry powder I used for this dish is Vencat Curry Powder and you can get it readily available in most stores around New Zealand. I couldn't stress how much I adore this particular curry powder.

[caption id="attachment_2357" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="The fiery Vencat Curry Powder!"][/caption]

- Diced some onions, tomatoes, celery (optional)

- Tomato puree or one of those tomato spaghetti sauce in the can or bottle

- Italian herbs or mix herbs (any kind of herbs of your choice)

- Cut up the crayfish into smaller pieces and keep the head too because that's where the sweet crayfish juices will come from

4. To make the Crayfish Pasta Sauce, simply heat the pot, pour some oil in and saute the onions, diced tomatoes, diced chilli and herbs. Next throw in the tomato puree / tomato spaghetti sauce and add in a bit of water. Just as the sauce started to boil, throw in the diced crayfish and the head. Throw in everything, don't even miss a leg of the crayfish. Haha. For taste, add on some pepper and salt. And you are ready to serve!

The end result of this Spaghetti Crayfish in a quick 30 minutes cook up looks like this:

[caption id="attachment_2354" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Any kind of noodles or pasta will work too! This one I used egg noodles instead. The most important part is the spaghetti sauce with the crayfish in it!"][/caption]

And the close up version of the Crayfish Pasta Sauce! Yum!

[caption id="attachment_2355" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="The killer crayfish pasta or spaghetti sauce"][/caption]

Cooking pasta is really easy and if you happen to have crayfish available around you, you should try out this Spaghetti Crayfish Recipe. It is simply divine! Ah, I'm drooling just writing about this. Give this recipe a try and happy cooking!

Traveling Malaysia During Ramadan Month in August 2011| Food Bazaar Malaysia

The weather in general all over Peninsular Malaysia as of right now August 22 is wet, raining and cooling. I think most of us, well at least for me, I have been anticipating for some rain to come pouring to counter the hot weather. They also say that when it rains, it is a sign of blessing. Well I think it is true!

I'm not so sure if the rainy season is starting to kick in which explains the amount of rain we have been getting lately since the last couple of days. Most probably it is that time of the year again, when it rains, it pours. If you are traveling around Malaysia at this time of the year, please remember to at least have an umbrella handy and be prepared to get wet. There are still a lot of places for you to visit especially for this month, it is the month of Ramadan where the majority of Muslims in Malaysia is fasting for the whole month.

Being Malaysians, we love our food and at this point of the holy month, there will be a lot of food bazaars or what the local calls it as "Bazar Ramadan or Pasar Ramadan" and with these food bazaars around, it is the best time ever to sample delicious arrays of local food. The bazaars are located in most townships and it will be opened usually around 3pm until about 7+ pm just before the time where people will break their fast. These Bazar Ramadan all around Malaysia is the place to go to for FOOD and generally pretty much everyone (of different races and religions) in Malaysia will be doing some major food hunting down at these bazaars because it is the only time of the year where you get to feast and find certain type of food that you don't usually see on normal days being sold on the street.

Food prices are generally cheap, there are a lot of varieties that will drive you nuts and you will be tempted to buy a whole lot of food but you will certainly enjoy the chow down. :) Besides that, by the end of this month, after a long full month of fasting, the Muslims will be celebrating Eid or what the local will call it as "Hari Raya Aidilfitri" and usually there will be a lot of open houses going on for the next one month where everyone is welcome to pay a visit and have a big feast. There will be a lot of eating great food involved and if you are a foreigner traveling down in Malaysia by end of this month, do watch out for some major 'Hari Raya' Open Houses that the Prime Minister will usually host for everyone to come and eat free delicious Malaysian food on the first day of Eid.

So there you go, there are still a lot of things to look forward to in Malaysia at least in the food travel categories despite the rainy weather that has been pouring for days now in this month. It is a happy celebration of food for everyone in Malaysia now and of course a holy celebration for those Muslims in this holy month and that is more than enough reason for you to come over and travel in Malaysia this month. :)

Foodie Road Trip : Food You Must Have A Try While in Kuching, Sarawak

One major thing that I always seemed to look forward to during my travel is to hunt down for some of the best local cuisines and try them all as much as I could. One my first ever trip to Kuching, Sarawak about last month, I pretty much have some basic ideas on what are the food that you must have a try while in Kuching, Sarawak and listed below are some of the local dishes that I had tried, tasted and enjoyed in Kuching. So let's see what they are!

• Laksa Sarawak version Planet Sambal. Planet Sambal is a restaurant located at Jln Padungan which is "within walking distance" from let say Kuching Waterfront if walking is your thing and you seriously do not mind walking under the hot sun for about 40 minutes or probably more. Hehe. Yeah, I love to walk and it is so worth it to walk this far and accidentally bumped into this shop for a pretty good Laksa Sarawak. Although I was anticipating the curry to look curry-ish red instead of the one I had which was kinda greyish looking curry. The taste is excellent which is something I had never tasted before.  I could taste the distinct taste of the 'kerisik' - stir fry dessicated coconut and the laksa is very fragrance topped with generous amount of shrimps and other little bits of vegetables which is an excellent combo!

[caption id="attachment_2308" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Laksa Sarawak at Planet Sambal Kuching"][/caption]

• While in the restaurant, I saw a few locals eating this bowl of white gooey stuffs called Linut or Ambuyat which reminded me of sticky glue and I couldn't resist myself from not trying it out and so I ordered one for RM3.50, I think. It came in a pretty big bowl, it's all white and sticky, pretty tasteless, warm and I think it's best eaten warm and I had to ask the waiter how I should I eat it. Haha. So you just swirl the sticky sago around your fork and dip it with the sambal belacan and swallow it down your throat. I attempted a couple of swirls, dipped in sambal and swallowed hard and I rest my case. I would say, it was an interesting food to eat. Hmm...

[caption id="attachment_2309" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Linut or Ambuyat with sambal belacan"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2310" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="(bottom to top) Laksa Sarawak Biasa, Linut, Laksa Sarawak Special - Planet Sambal"][/caption]

•  Planet Sambal also have a new dish listed which is the Laksa Lobster Sarawak. I was stuffed with my Laksa Sarawak and the Linut, so I had to pass on this one although it really look tempting and delicious. You should try it out if you are in Kuching at least at Planet Sambal, Jln Padungan. :)

[caption id="attachment_2314" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Laksa Lobster from Planet Sambal"][/caption]

• The next day, during our breakfast hunt, we walked down along Bishop Street and found probably the only Malay coffee shop opened along the street and one of us ordered Laksa Sarawak. Look closely, you will notice that this version of the laksa is different from the one I had at Planet Sambal. I would say, this is very curryish and suited much better with our tongues. Or probably we are used to having this type of red curry Laksa before, hence we concluded that we prefer and like this version of the Laksa Sarawak. But still, I would suggest you to try out the Laksa at Planet Sambal because it sure is different.

[caption id="attachment_2315" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Yet another version of Laksa Sarawak located along the narrow street of Bishopgate"][/caption]

•  We also tried out on other seafood which are pretty cheap in Kuching comparatively to seafood prices back in KL. The picture below, I wanted to show you that I tried out what the local calls it as 'Midin' - a stir fried fern or for the rest of us Malaysians it's better known as 'Pucuk Paku'.

[caption id="attachment_2316" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Midin - some kind of 'fern' that is usually eaten stir-fried or in Malay it's called 'pucuk paku'"][/caption]

•  While at Sarawak Cultural Village, we went to this Sago processing area and out of the Sago flour, you can make this lovely, sweet, light cracker called Tebaloi. It's an excellent food for snacks.

[caption id="attachment_2317" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Tebaloi - Sago Crackers made from sago flour. Really yummy and great for a light snack."][/caption]

•  This is the famous Ayam Pansuh or Manok Pansuh - chicken cooked in bamboo which I didn't have the chance to try. Haha. Maybe next time though.

[caption id="attachment_2318" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Ayam Pansuh or Manok Pansuh - chicken cooked in bamboo"][/caption]

Among other things you should have a try while you are in Kuching are these :

• Umai - A choice of either raw prawns or fish,  looks really yummy and the picture is beautifully captured by http://jamesjg.com/food-and-dining/umai

• Kek Lapis Sarawak - colourful, layered Sarawak cake. There are a lot of varieties and you can buy them best at Kampung Boyan. To get there take the 'bot tambang' at Kuching Waterfron for 5o cent one way to cross the Sarawak River towards Kampung Boyan. There will be shops selling a lot of these Kek Lapis there. You can also buy 'Terubuk Ikan Masin' - freshly salted fish from this area.

• Mee Kolok/ Kolo Mee - I haven't had the chance to try it but there are two version of this Mee Kolok - halal and non-halal.

• Fresh, cheap seafood at Top Spot Seafood Centre. There are a lot of stalls to choose from and the seafood centre is opened at night.

So there you go a list of food you must have a try while traveling in Kuching, Sarawak. That's a wrap for Foodie Road Trip as for now. :)

Foodie Road Trip : The Best Nyonya Laksa and Cendol in Melaka

Where can you find the Best Nyonya Laksa and Cendol in Melaka? Here is where you will get them :

[caption id="attachment_2216" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Ocean Cafe serves the best Nyonya Laksa in Melaka"][/caption]

The Best Nyonya Laksa and Cendol in Melaka (as of to date) can be found at Ocean Cafe! The shop is located somewhere around Jonker Walk and the best way to locate this cafe is by foot! We found out about this cafe by pure coincidence and it was not something planned at all. I just always knew that you can find some awesome Nyonya Laksa somewhere in around Jonker Walk and that was just about the only hint that I had.

You are heading to the right direction if you start seeing these houses of worships : The Buddist Temple, Mosque and the Hindu Temple.

Local call this street: Harmony Street - (from Left to Right) The Buddist temple, Mosque and Hindu Temple are located all on the same street. Ocean cafe is right opposite the Mosque and Hindu Temple

It is a long straight road and just keep going ahead until you see the mosque on your left and you will see Ocean Cafe  on your right. The Hindu temple is just a couple of steps ahead on the left side.

[caption id="attachment_2224" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Ocean Cafe has the best nyoya laksa in Melaka town"][/caption]

We seriously wouldn't even think of dropping by the cafe if the cafe lady owner didn't invited us in to have a go at her laksa. You really don't expect to see that many cafe around this Jln Tukang Emas so finding one during that lunch hour time couldn't be of a better timing. We were hungry, the laksa looks tempting and I have been craving for a proper Nyonya Laksa since last year and yes, we came at the right timing, found the best shop all at once.

So what makes Ocean Cafe Nyonya Laksa the best laksa I've ever tasted?

[caption id="attachment_2218" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Nyonya Laksa by Oceon Cafe - Best Nyonya Laksa in Melaka"][/caption]

The Nyonya Laksa smell and tasted really good. In case you dont' know, Laksa from the Southern side of Malaysia is what we from the North will call it as Curry Mee. So this is different from your usual Asam Laksa dish.

We've been told by the chef herself that she uses a lot of fresh ingredients and herbs to bring out the best smelling fragrance in her laksa. She even makes her own curry paste ( I think) and  the laksa soup is rich in flavour, thick and when you taste it you can tell that a lot of work in terms of the ingredients have been put to make that delicious dish. The noodles used for this laksa is a mix of yellow mee and meehoon. This Nyonya Laksa is also topped with crunchy bean sprouts, fresh juicy cockles ( I kid you not on this one - very juicy okay! ), some fish cakes, half an egg and other yummy stuffs too.

Next up, we were asked if we wanted to have a go at the cendol too and of course we said Yes! She mentioned that her cendol is different because she uses only Gula Melaka and that's the key to having the best cendol ever! Gula Melaka has a rich, thick sugary taste to it and that makes a cendol a Real Cendol! Haha.

[caption id="attachment_2221" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="The best Cendol ever!"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2222" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Laoban (boss in Mandarin) making cendol"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2223" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Barley Lime Ice - recommended beverage by Ocean Cafe lady chef"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2225" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="The full menu"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2226" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="The modest prep kitchen - typical hawker stall style"][/caption]

Last but not least, you will be a happy camper if you can have a taste of this Nyonya Laksa. That I can guarantee you! Check out the picture below if you don't believe it. Haha.

[caption id="attachment_2227" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="When you eat Laksa, you will always end up looking like this : A happy eater!"][/caption]

I don't know about other places and I've heard of really excellent feedbacks from this cafe on their Nyonya Laksa. Hence, the next time you happen to hang around Jonker Walk in Melaka, do take the time to hunt down this place. It will be worth the walk and search!

Best Nyonya Laksa & Cendol In Melaka ( as rated by me and a lot of other people especially backpacking foreigners and locals too) is located at this addresss :

Ocean Cafe, Jln Tukang Emas 20 ( near Jonker Walk, opposite of Mosque and Hindu Temple)