my pokok jambu air...

My pokok jambu air with its solitary fruit.  

Quite pathetic actually 

but I'm proud of my pokok jambu air. 

The tree is about 3 feet tall

and the fruit is barely half feet from the ground.

Subhanallah.

 

WELCOMING THE DRAGON!!

Wishing all my Chinese friends GONG XI FA CHAI.

  May the year of dragon brings more prosperity 

and happiness to you and your family. 

Ber-mandy di Wadi Hardramawt!!

Arab (or rather middle eastern) foods are the in thing now.  One can find kedai Arab at almost every corner  (well, I might be exaggerating a little bit but I guess you know what I mean).

  
So needless to say, I've joined the camel bandwagon too and have fallen in love with Arab foods.  Sedappp!  So, I'm gonna feature a few middle-eastern makan places.  The first one (but definitely not the best in my mid-eastern foods list) is Wadi Hadramawt in Jalan Ampang, Kuala Lumpur.

 The restaurant is located right in a middle of a used car show room.

Not a very conducive place to have a restaurant, eh?

 

A camel figurine

Tak sahlah kalau tak order mandy rice kalau pergi kedai Arab kan.

We order lamb mandy...

...and chicken mandy.

Verdict : I've tasted better and I've tasted worst. err....

Besides the mandy rice, 

hummus is another must-have.

I love hummus. 

 But unfortunately they serve their hummus

with this flat, very dry and thin bread.

I'm quite disappointed. Very, in fact!

Their Arab tea bolehlah tahan. 

Not bad. Quite nice and refreshing.

 

My friend also ordered this bean-y dish.

Am not a fan, though.

Salad Arab - touboleh. 

Bolehlah....  

  

 

They claim they are a Yemeni restaurant.

Hence the picture of some forest in Yemen. 

 

 

 ...and the Yemeni famous dagger, Jambiya...

Another decoration in the resto...

 

 So, Wadi Hadramawt is a so-so place to eat.

And their address is : 

No. 226, Jalan Ampang,
50450 Kuala Lumpur,
MALAYSIA
(Between Sucasa Hotel & Petronas Gas Station)
Tel: 03-4253 3333
Fax: 03-4251 5392 

Banana leaf lunch...

Chinese foods? Check.  Minang foods?  Check.  Malay foods? Check, check and check! 

So, now the spotlight is on Indian foods. I was never a fan of Indian foods for the first half of my life, until I got married.  And since my other half is an Indian foods lover, I got hooked too.  Sedap rupanya makanan India ni...

 

Our fave Indian joint is Restoran Nirvana Maju in Bangsar.   

Our 'plates'...

The top plate belongs to my hubby.

I dont quite like the cucumber, so I pass.
 

 But I LOVE this and ask for double servings.

SEDAPNYAA!! This is snake gourd fried with spicy batter.

I could eat this the whole day. Sedap banget sih!!!

 The waiter piling on the gravy.

Plenty of dhal and curry, please!

Please don't stop until I say so!!!

Aaahhhh... that looks about right.

Time to dig in now.

 

Side orders are also available.

Yang ni fried tenggiri (spanish mackerel) and fried puyuh (quail).

Crunchy and spicy. Very oommmpppphhhhyy! 

 

Rice is all gone.

Saving the best for last.

My delicious fried snake gourd...

(this is my 3rd helping actually.. huhu) 

 Rasem or google says rasam.

And wiki says it's a South Indian soup.

A very sour soup, that is.

I'm yet to acquire its taste.

Nggak begitu sukak deh dengan rasanya

but my hubby loves it. Dua2 ni dia bedal!

  My friend, Pae, would be happy to see this. (=

All foods dutily consumed now.

The drill is to fold the banana leaf towards you

if you're happy with your meal.

But I always fold mine away from me for practical reason.

I wouldnt want any runaway gravy

to drip down the table onto me. No way, jose!

And for more safety measure,

letak container rasam and pinggan atas daun pisang tu.

Sure selamat punya tuuuu.... 

 

Now, wash down all that goodness with a glass of cold OJ.

Their OJ pun sedap.

Very terasa the orange.

 

Next to our table is this young boy

who looks like Blanket Jackson!

Anyway, Nirwana Maju Restaurant address is :

43 Jalan Telawi 3, Bangsar Baru, 59100 Kuala Lumpur.
Telephone: 03 - 2287 844
Parking is a nightmare. So be prepared to make a few rounds before you can find a parking space. 

p/s : mr drum major, okay kan..? dah ada alamat tu... coordinates tak tau lah... kena carik kat google earth kot .. :)))

the making of tempoyak...

Ever wonder how that wonderful and aromatic tempoyak (fermented durian) is made?  

Well, wonder no more.  

Here's how it's made. 

It all starts with the durian fruits, of course.

Usually only 'rejected' durians are used.

But do not be fooled by their appearance...

 These are how most of the durian flesh look like.

The flesh is still good but a bit over ripe.

Nggak dienak lagi kalau di makan gitu aja...

So moral of the story is, don't judge a durian by its skin, ya...

 

 Okay, now using a small knife,

you can start removing the durian flesh.

 

 This is how it looks,

after all the 'defleshing' process.

 And these are the 'aftermath'.

They are all biodegradable and/or recyclable.

So, don't worry about me polluting Mother Earth... huhu...

And here is the tempoyak.

An acquired taste.

You either love it or hate it.

Note : for the uninitiated, tempoyak is used in many Malay dishes. Either eaten raw with pounded fresh chillies and eaten with salad or added into soup and/or stew-like dishes. Either way, tempoyak is something everyone hate to love and love to hate... mmm.... :)))

p/s : this posting is dedicated to my hantu-tempoyak friends - didz, ogycilipadi, fz, anak pak jais, mrs tim owen, dan lain2 juga.. hhhehee....

 

Poh's Kitchen...

Anybody who loves foods, I think, would love cooking shows.  And I'm no different. I love to watch how they do it on TV (cooking that is, don't get any weird ideas now...).  And one of my latest fave shows is Poh's Kitchen.

Poh Ling Yeow a Malaysian-born Australian. 

Won second place in Masterchef.

She has this crazy yet contagious laugh.

Suka tengok her cooking show. She's a natural.

It proves again that one doesnt need to be pretty

like Nigella Lawson to be a good celebrity chef

but she DOES have something in common with Nigella though...

Check out her sneak preview HERE!!

My son will always roll his eyes when I do 

my (in)famous commentary everytime we watch Poh.

I'd go something like this :

'If Poh didn't migrate Down Under, 

I bet she'd still be cooking up a storm.

But she'd be doing it in some dingy char kuey tiaw stall

or may be selling yong tau foo in Jalan Alor' 

....errrr...... 

I admit that's quite an unfair remark but then that's the reality.

Kalau dok kat sini, I dont think Poh would have 

her own cooking show, would she? mmmmmm......

Whatever it is, I love Poh Ling Yeow and her crazy laugh. :))))

She's on Channel 707 @ 7pm, Monday

bubur kacang + durian for... all day long food fest!

Bubur kacang is always our family's fave snacking food.  

Tapi kalau letak durian, lagi lah favorite... YUMMY!!! 

Went to the neighborhood durian stall to buy 2 durians.

Nothing fancy - not musang king and not even D24.

Ini sure durian reject tapi it's good enough for my bubur kacang.

Kalau nak makan gitu2, rasanya mmg kurang oomph ni...

  

 

 My bubur kacang with the durians.

Sure best ni coz the smell alone is outta this world!!

 

Some people like to eat their bubur kacang cold, 

but I like mine piping hot. DELICIOUS!!! :))))))