PENANG... SINGAPORE... KUCHING!

Sunset at Tanjung Aru in my hometown of Kota Kinabalu

It's been 2 days since I've been back in Melbourne and I'm still missing my home and family back in KK! I honestly feel like this is probably the best Summer break I've had yet (despite all the amazing ones I've had in the past).

It seemed like those 8 weeks flew by unreasonably quick. Lots happened, which included:

- Flying to Penang for a week with the family

- Then straight to Singapore just for the weekend to catch a concert

- Also to Kuching for a friend's wedding and many catchups

So much good food with plenty of hilarious/treasured company during each of those trips. To make this post bearable for all of you, I had to seriously cut out a LOT of the pictures from the holiday, which was quite painful (blogger woes, lol). The following are just my favourites and are all absolutely DELICIOUS!

Anyway, if you like what you see and want to know the specific location of where I ate any of the food below, it's easier to just shoot me an e-mail. This was a really fun post for me to do and I sure hope you enjoy the pictures too.

Take care,

Winston =)

_________________________________

PENANG:

Indian Poori with Curry and Dhal

Black Pepper Chicken Puff, Crispy Yam Puff, Glutinous Coconut Puff (with "nian gao") and Pandan Lotus Paste with Salted Egg Puff

DURIANS

Kway Teow Soup

Penang "White Curry" Mee

Penang Hokkien Mee (aka Prawn Mee)

Penang Assam Laksa

Penang Char Kway Teow

Fried Oyster Omelette

SINGAPORE:

If you haven't been to Imperial Treasure Super Peking Duck (at Paragon on Orchard Road), you must make a booking to eat there ASAP! Despite its unbelievably tacky name, it really was absolutely remarkable in too many ways. I speak highly of this restaurant for a reason and you will not regret your meal here.

HOT DAYUM. My pictures are not doing the duck justice AT ALL!

Chef's Fried Rice (AMAZING as well)

"Otak-Otak" aka Fish Mousse

Location: Xu Jun Sheng (Long Ji), Joo Chiat Road

Sambal Kangkung

Meat Patty with Salted Fish

(best ever)

KUCHING:

Wheat Grass "C" Peng

Teh "C" Special Peng

Nasi Ayam Penyet

Fish Slice Noodles

Sarawak Kolo Mee

Sarawak Laksa

Honestly, my ultimate favourite Laksa of them all. This bowl at Little Sky was surprisingly better than the "famous" one at Foody Goody -- YUMMM!

Drugstore Espresso, South Yarra

Check out the "futuristic" light lol

Located just a stone's throw away from South Yarra Station along Toorak Road =)

The thing I never realised about Food Blogging until I actually started is how fortunate I'd be to get to know SO many amazing people in this community. Heck, I didn't even know there was even a community of Food Bloggers to begin with. That was how out of touch I was when I first began.

So, when Bryan (of Let's Get Fat Together) and Ashley (of I'm So Hungree) graciously asked me on Twitter if I wanted to meet them for a brunch sometime, of course I said, "YES!". It was quite exciting, really. Getting to meet fellow bloggers that (I've always admired) for the first time.

And so we did, just before I was bound to fly back to Malaysia for the Summer. Since Bryan and Ash are the Brunching King/Queen (IMO, anyway) and I was waaaay more inexperienced in that department, I was happy to go anywhere they suggested because I knew I was in good hands ;)

Array of delectable baked treats on display

I was so tempted and felt like they were calling out to me

Personally, I LOVE meeting new people! Funnily enough, it didn't feel that way at all. It was almost like old friends catching up because we've been friends for quite a while and know so much about each other already, how nice =)

The brunch we had was really pleasant, with Jo (Bryan's friend), also in our company too. Food was good, but the company was better. Though the kitchen was closed (due to Christmas/Boxing Day), there was still a fair amount of items to choose from in the display cabinet. Here's what we had:

Wince: Smoked Salmon Bagels

Omg, guys... I LOVED THIS!!! Beautifully toasted and buttery bagels (with a nutty overtone from the sesame seeds), slathered in cream cheese, topped with slices of smoked salmon with a squeeze of lemon........ And it literally went, "CRUNCH CRUNCH CRUNCH" in every. single. bite...................... Oh Lordy.

It was SO GOOD. Absolute perfection~

Jo: Pork Belly Sandwich

Pork Belleh Sammieee... See what I mean about choices being good enough we didn't need to order from the kitchen...? Not like we could, anyway. I enjoyed this too. The meat was moist, flavourful and well-seasoned, just as it should be. YUM!

And I really, really like the salad sides that they served here... Roasted caps, sun-dried tomatoes with spinach leaves lightly dressed in vinaigrette... Simple, but GOOD.

Ash: Asian Chicken Salad

I always feel a bit funny when people name their dishes "Asian", cause I never really know what that means. I mean, I don't think I'd ever call a dish, say, "Western" Fried Rice, if I opened an Asian restaurant, right...?

ANYHOO, this was a really delightful salad. Whatever the dressing was, it was really delicious with a good balance of sweetness and tanginess. Love the pop of colours/crunch from the vegetables and the chicken was quite moist, too.

Bryan: Bircher Muesli

I'll be honest, this was my first time eating Bircher Muesli. Jo explains that the difference is that Birchers are soaked in milk/liquid overnight. I swear, that woman is such a Foodie herself, I love it. Somebody get her a blog!! The blueberry compote (I refuse to refer to it as a syrup) helped bind all the other flavours together too. Nice...

Overall, I genuinely enjoyed this place based on what we ordered. Actually, there wasn't any complaints about the food at all and I thought it really suited my palette. After that meal, I was SO obsessed with bagels, seriously. I was so tempted to order them again when I went to Manchester Press later that afternoon (but I didn't). I also firmly decided that I was to eat nothing else but bagels all day, every day for the next few days (again... of course I didn't). Also, it was really uncanny how Michele (of Iron Chef Shellie) posted a blog post on homemade bagels that same night. Could this be a sign...?

Hey, remember that episode of Community where Brita kept pronouncing bagels as "baggels"? Hilarious. Oukaynevermind.

Anyway, just wanted to say thanks again to Ash, Bryan and Jo for their wonderful company. Glad we could finally meet up and look forward to more eating adventures with you guys in the future. JUST HOLLA NEXT TIME YOU'RE IN THE CITY YAHHHH...

Also, don't forget to check out Ashley's review of Drugstore Espresso: here

Take care, all...! Will put up a new blog post soon =)

My Chinese New Year memories...

Every single year, my family and I would fly back to Mum's tiny hometown of Tawau to spend Chinese New Year with the whole family. So many good memories... Like playing card games and firecracks with all my cousins non-stop since we were kids. Weird story, we also used to love digging up yam straight from the ground at the jungle of a backyard of my cousin's house and then roasting it with fire we had started with twigs from scratch. LEGIT STUFF. This was extremely fun for us. Love our modest childhood from simpler times. Now, THOSE were the days... One year, all the cousins and I also put on a special dance/drama performance prepared on our own as our parents and Late Grandma gathered around to watch in the living room. It really was quite hysterical...

*photos would be so embarrassing right about now*

My favourite memory would also be of my Late Grandma (or "PoPo", as I call her), pulling up a stool next to me, to spoon feed me plain rice in soup in the afternoons. She only did this (without me asking) because she knows that I was the perpetually hungry and peckish one of her grandchildren. It's so simple, yet delicious. But what I loved most is that she would gently blow each mouthful of rice before feeding it to me, till the temperature was just right. Sounds a bit like Goldilocks eh? I felt so loved from every spoonful. Then I would reply gleefully by saying, "Hao Sit, PoPo!" or "Delicious, Nana!". This happens every year I return, without fail.

It's memories like these that really make me miss my Late Grandma so, so dearly till this day....................... It's been 7 years ='/

Though, I must say that ever since my Late PoPo passed, CNY has been drastically different. We don't return to Tawau anymore for a number of reasons (but nothing bad, don't worry). Instead, we now have our own tradition here in Kota Kinabalu with glorious food prepared by my lovely mother.

They're just a treat. It's not the same, but just as special. One thing is for sure, we don't eat out. In fact, most of it are dishes that would only be served this time of year and every meal was SOOO delicious!!!

ANYHOO, here's a snapshot of the CNY dishes we ate this year. To all of you from a "non-Asian background", WELCOME to my humble Chinese family dining table and I hope you enjoy......... And Happy Belated Chinese New Year aka Year of the Dragon to you all!!!

1) Reunion Dinner, aka CNY Eve or "Tuan Yuan Fan"

Deep-Fried Tiger Prawn Fritters

Steamed Chinese Cabbage with Dried Scallops

Mum's signature: Chicken, Abalone and Ham "Sandwich" with superior Abalone Sauce

Note: Only top grade, corn fed (more fragrant skin), free range, bare neck (smoother meat) and aged chicken from a local farmer is used

YUMMY! Delicious mouthful of food from each layer

Braised chicken, chinese mushrooms and sea cucumber

Stewed all day, sauce was really unbelievably good

Shark's Fin Soup

(I'm sorry!!! These were bought many years ago, we've stopped buying them, I swear!)

2) 1st Day CNY Brunch

It is a tradition for our family to eat every single one of these vegetarian dishes for this meal each year. Recipe passed on to Mum from my Late Grandma. I have to make this for my vegetarian friends in Melbourne.

Stewed vegetables (beancurd skin, beancurd puffs, black moss fungus, carrots, mushrooms, dates, bamboo shoots and glass noodles) in fermented red tofu

LOVE THIS!!!

White radish soup with dates, mushrooms and (the only "meat" allowed this meal,..) dried oysters

"Nian Gao" aka "Sticky Cake" (made with glutinous rice flour) Fried with Egg

Mum had her Sister (who barely comes over) and her family from Tawau too, glad to share the meal with them

3) Other meals here and there...

Mum's Twice Fried Duck with Plum Sauce

TO DIE FOR!!! One of my favourite childhood dishes ever!!

Every time I ask Mum how she makes this and my other favourite dishes, she just goes, "Very easy waaan...! Just do this, throw in that, dot dot dot... and DONE!". Not very convincing lol

HK Imported Cured Meats and Pickled Shallots

One of my favourite things to eat!!

HK Kailan Vegetable with Oyster Sauce

Hakka "Kiu Nyuk", a Pork and Yam dish in fermented tofu sauce

My dad's prolly the biggest fan of mum's roast chook lol

Mum's signature Duck in Plum Sauce again... MMM!

Chicken Soup with Sea Cucumber, Mushrooms and Quail Eggs

"Lou Sang"

A traditional dish containing preserved vegetables, rice crisps and raw fish topped with sour plum sauce. Each element representing something symbolic for the Lunar New Year

Tossed with chopsticks by every one at the table. The higher you toss, "the more fortune you will receive"

Anyway, I'm glad to have shared MY family's CNY tradition with you. Tell me, what's CNY like in YOUR household? Any fond childhood memories that tugs your heart strings? Would love to hear about them! =)