Cleffairy's Blog, page 154

Shihlin Taiwan Street Snacks

When was the last time you play hookie, just to spend some time with your loved ones? I don’t make it a habit to play hookie from work, but there are times that you need to let go of things and live a little. It was a working day, but it happens that I have been invited by a pretty young lady to sample some delights from Shihlin Taiwan Street Snacks in OneUtama. I was contemplating on whether to accept the invitation or not as it was kinda last minute, but in the end, I thought… hey… screw work. I’ve been slaving enough.Things are pretty stressful for me. I deserve a rest and it’s been awhile since I did something spontaneous. It was my lucky day. The hubby was around and was heading to the same direction as I am, and so, I dragged both of my boys with me to pig out with me. Wow. It’s been awhile since the three of us had lunch together.

Neway, our host, Sharon, was practically starving as she haven’t had lunch, and had taken the liberty to order practically everything off from the menu for us, and the food were served within minutes upon when my family and I arrived. How cool is that? I discovered first hand that despite of the perpetual crowed, Shihlin Taiwan Street Snacks is pretty much efficient. Food were served in timely manner. That’s definitely a plus point there.

These is what the lovely Ms. Sharon ordered for us. Happy Rice Box, Handmade Oyster Mee Sua, Crispy Floss Egg Crepe and of course, the all time bestseller in Shihlin Taiwan Street Snacks, XXL Crispy Chicken.

Feeling ravenous as I’ve skipped breakfast, I attacked this Happy Rice Box set with fervor. The fluffy rice was drizzled generously with light soya sauce and topped with spicy, crispy chicken cutlet with Japanese egg tofu on the side. A wholesome meal, perfect for those who are rushing during lunch hour.

XXL Crispy Chicken did it’s name justice. It was really huge. Priced at just RM6.50 per piece, the fried chicken is definitely a steal.Adeptly fried and perfectly seasoned with salt, pepper and paprika powder, the fried chicken was crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside. I felt so guilty for having these…you see, I’ve been trying to eat healthily and therefore trying my best to avoid oily stuff, but heck… these are worth every calories and perhaps pimples that will be breaking out later.

Not a big fan of oysters, but seeing my husband enjoying the bowl of Handmade Oyster Mee Sua tempted me for a few slurp.The mee sua came in thick soup broth, some shredded oysters and shredded chicken meat. There is also some chilli paste on the side. I was a bit doubtful about it, but it tasted really good and I enjoyed every spoonful of it.

Crispy Floss Egg Crepe. The crepe is a bit like our locally stretched roti canai except it’s thinner, crispier and coated with eggs. There’s chicken floss bedded in the crepe rolls. Plum sauce was drizzled all over the egg crepe for extra flavours. A tad disappointing for me as I was expecting these to be savoury. It was surprisingly sweet, and though I did not had seconds of these, my son polished them off. My little man have sweet tooth and apparently, these won his heart that day.

All of us were still ravenous after all the rice, fried chicken, mee sua, and crepe, and so, we ordered this from the menu. New product from Shihlin Taiwan Street Snacks, Crispy Salt pepper Mushroom. In conjunction with it’s 10th anniversary, Shihlin Taiwan Street Snacks has recently launched it’s Crispy Salt Pepper Mushroom. My son and I are a huge fan of crispy stuff like this, and so, naturally, we enjoyed the mushrooms. Each golden mushrooms is coated with light batter, and it’s positively addictive.

Priced at merely Rm5.50 per bag, these highly addictive mushrooms makes not only a great dish during tea time, but great companion during movie marathons too. These are available in 5 different flavours; Original, Kimchi, Seaweed, Sour Cream and Wasabi. We tried the Original and Seaweed flavour. Both are great, but I personally recommend the Seaweed ones. The taste is much more distinctive, in my humble opinion. Yet to try other flavours, but will do so on my next visits, definitely.

Being a magnanimous host and knowing how much I can eat, Sharon asked us if we would like to try the  Seafood tempura and Sweet Plum Potato Fries, but we were already full. So that adds two more items I would be trying on my next visits.

Neway, I noticed that Shihlin Taiwan Street Snack is having fabulous promotion in conjunction of their 10th anniversary. From 1st Nov to 31st Dec 2013, with a minimum purchase of any Shihlin Taiwan Street Snacks items, diners will receive a 10th anniversary collectible card. There are 10 cards to be launched over 8 weeks, each with a different design, depicting a significant milestone of Shihlin Taiwan Street Snacks over the decade. The customer who collects all the 10 different cards will win a grand prize of Rm20,000 cash.

In addition of that each cards jas an instant prize to be won too, so keep a lookout if you decide to collect em.

For more infos on that and Shihlin Taiwan Street Snacks outlet locations, do hop over to : http://www.facebook.com/shihlinsnacks.

Cleffairy: The present is a gift.

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East Meet West

There are a lot of things in life that is not worth arguing about as it can go on and on forever and instead of getting a solution, you’ll get stuck with resentments instead. I could name a few things that is not worth arguing about, but food definitely tops the list.

I haven’t been in the mood of cooking for quite some time now, and so, my family and I have been eating out.

We always find ourselves not knowing what to eat, or where to eat. Last Sunday, my husband and I were getting into the indecisive mood again; and knowing where such mood will lead and getting too tired of the same conversation on whether to go for Western or Oriental food, I decided that for once, we should have both. So we had these:

Hainanese chicken rice.

And black pepper chic chop with spaghetti.

And despite the fact that I’ve been trying to cut down soft drinks, I found my husband ordering Coke for me. It made me smile, cuz it comes with a hastag #lenglui, a Chinese word that literally means ‘pretty girl’. I’m a sucker for sweet talks and compliments. Lol. So yeah…the Coke may ruin my healthy diet regime for a day, but it makes me feel so good and happy.

Cleffairy: So what is the moral of the story? Well…perhaps it’ s really simple: choose to simplify life instead of complicating the matter, and instead of arguing about worthless things and sticking strictly to your principles, let go a little. You’all be surprised on how much you can actually win by losing.

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Sensational Pastries at Bonjour Garden

Ever dream of going to Paris to sample to die-for pastries but don’t exactly have the budget for it? Well, yours truly has always dreamed of going to Paris….the City of love and of course, great pastries, but apparently, my dreams are always too big for my pocket. But lucky me, I don’t have to travel far to sample Parisian pastries and delights. Located at the Intermark, Kuala Lumpur, Bonjour Garden is definitely a great hideout for those who to escape from the bustling city for a while.

Bonjour Garden is  a very down to-earth authentic French-Japanese bakery, one of the latest lifestyle garden concept bakery and cafe serving a unique selection of confectionery items, pastries, mains and coffee made with the high quality ingredients from Japan.

The menu concept revolves around 3 key elements – Healthy, Creativity and Japanese Chefs.The concept of combining French culinary inspirations and Japanese skills would definitely impress both young and old. Well, at least, it did impressed me immensely.

Some of their bestseller pastries.

Assorted buns and pastries.

Ciabatta (RM6.00)/ Pain de Campagne (RM5.80) I’m a bread person. And I enjoy even the plainest bread with wholemeal and rye. So naturally, the ciabatta won a place in my tummy. They were naturally flavoured and. Crispy on the crust, the soft and fluffy bread inside was wonderful to be eaten on it’s own, or paired with assorted cheese and dried fruits.

Croissant (RM2.50) decently made of a layered yeast-leavened dough. The dough is layered with butter, rolled and folded several times in succession, then rolled into a sheet, in a technique called laminating. These are wonderfully layered and flaky. Good on it’s own.

Levain Cranberry Cheese (RM18.20). Pistachios and cranberries were folded into a naturally leavened dough. This is one of Bonjour Garden’s signature bread. Not particularly my favourite, but definitely great for those who love exploring different textures and tastes. There’s generous amount of cream cheese embedded in the fold, so if you’re into cream cheese, you’d definitely love this.

One could really go nuts with this nutty Caramel Cheese Raisin Butter Roll (RM2.80) Topped with crushed pistachio and bedded within each butter roll lies a thick layer of caramel cheese and bits of raisin.

Here are 5 of the bestselling dishes I managed to sample: The Pacific, Miniature Chicken Crisp Sandwich, Miniature Oriental Pizza, Wild Mushroom Soup and Crab and Crab and Edamame Pasta.

Miniature Chicken Crisp Sandwich. Marinated chicken leg coated in a crispy batter sandwiched between Tiger bun was my favourite that night. I can never resist a good sandwich.

Miniature Oriental Pizza was topped with smoked duck’s breast and Golden Lily mango drizzled with balsamic glaze and garnished with chervil. Naturally, being a pizza lover, kiddo loves this.

The Pacific. Norwegian smoked salmon and herb cream cheese served with arugula, walnut and dried cranberry, dressed in lemon vinaigrette. I’m not a fan of salmon, so I gave this a miss, but my husband loves this and had three of these in one sitting. So I suppose these are really good.

I’m a huge fan of savoury things, and therefore, these are on my plate. , Miniature Chicken Crisp Sandwich, Miniature Oriental Pizza, and Crab and Edamame Pasta. I did not refrain myself that night, and therefore, I think the chef was pretty pleased with my hearty appetite, as I not only went for seconds, but thirds as well.

The ‘pain’ perfectly paired with cheese and dried fruits. Shared this with my other half.

I was already full from my unrestrained indulgence earlier, but a girl can never resist a good cake. Beautifully layered with fresh, sourish strawberries and whipped cream, this Japanese sponge cake is so light, airy and not cloyingly sweet. Would love to have seconds, but unfortunately, my gluttony have it’s limit.

Overall, the dining experience in Bonjour Garden is unforgettable in a good way. Love the ambiance, and love the food offerings even more. Highly recommended to all pastry lovers and bread-people.

Bonjour Garden
Lot LC01-08, Intermark Mall,

The Intermark,

348, Jalan Tun Razak,

50400 Kuala Lumpur.

Contact: 603-2181 1822
Reservation (Cakes): 603-6140 7587 / 012-720 8406
Business Hours: 8am – 10pm daily

Cleffairy:  I didn’t had enough. If only I have bigger stomach!

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Dinner Launch at Bonjour Garden, The Intermark KL.

Was invited to dinner launch with the chefs at Bonjour Garden, The Intermark Kuala Lumpur last week, courtesy of Sidney from BigBoysOven. Bonjour Garden is the latest lifestyle garden concept bakery and cafe serving a unique selection of confectionery items, pastries, mains and coffee made with the high quality ingredients from Japan. If you’re a bread and pastries person who also appreciate good coffee and a laid back ambiance, then Bonjour Garden is the place for you to chill out.

The dinner launch at Bonjour Garden was pretty much a pleasant and memorable experience, where bloggers were given a hands on experience by the great chef himself on how to make a Ciabatta bread.

Quirky Chef Yukichi Matsubara. A master of Patissier’s art. One of the chef responsible for our gastronomic pleasure that night.

Fun with flour

Next up is the Christmas Cake decorating demo by the pastry chef, Chef Shigeru Hashizume

The Mont Blanc Christmas Log Cake, after being given a full makeover by Chef Shigeru Hashizume Lovely, isn’t it?

Another lovely Christmas cake, Japanese Strawberry Shortcake

The chefs and their proud creations.

Christmas cakes are available only through reservations.You can enjoy 15% discount for reservations made between 1-30 November.

I’ll be posting about my gastronomic experience in Bonjour Garden in the next post, but if you’re already drooling over the Christmas cake, do feel free to contact them for reservation:

Bonjour Garden
Lot LC01-08, Intermark Mall,

The Intermark,

348, Jalan Tun Razak,

50400 Kuala Lumpur.

Contact: 603-2181 1822
Reservation (Cakes): 603-6140 7587 / 012-720 8406
Business Hours: 8am – 10pm daily

 Cleffairy: Stay tune and be prepared to drool!

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Penang Local Info & Market Trends

I’ve been doing some thinking lately. Well…that’s an understatement. I’ve been doing ALOT of thinking lately. About what you ask me? Well, about a lot of things. My life is simply not the same anymore and I doubt it will be the same from this point forward. Call me crazy…or having a mid-life crisis, but I’ve been giving a lot of thoughts on where I should be and what I should be doing 5 years from now. To be honest, I don’t really like who I am right now. If I were to tell my younger-self how I turned out as an adult, I would definitely have been severely disappointed with myself. I don’t like what I see in the mirror. I did not achieve enough, both personally and financially.

I don’t intend to remain the same though, and I want to fix my life a little bit. I may not be able to do much about personal achievements, but I know that I can at least do something about my financial situation.

There’s a saying that goes ‘ Jack of all trade, but master of none’. It is a figure of speech used in reference to a person that is competent with many skills, but is not necessarily outstanding in any particular one. My husband’s acquaintance once snickered at me and hurled this to me when I said that one should not just concentrate on one skills, and earn based only on on what he is good at, but must be more open to all sort of opportunities. Apparently, this person thinks that it’s best that one just concentrate on what they are good at instead of learning new things. I don’t share the same sentiment, and I never would, because to me, it is good if you can create diversity when it comes to making more money and investing for the future. To me, just having a job that pays for your bills is not good enough. It will get you nowhere.

And so, I decided to learn from the best out there and surround myself with people who are not only positive, but supportive as well. I find it much more pleasant to surround myself with such people, as they are not stingy when it comes to sharing knowledge on how to earn more.

A blogger friend of mine, Mr. E, is a property investor. He taught me abit on property investment, and knowing that I’m interested in investing my future away from the bustling and stressful city, he helped me to spot some potential property location that will give high return of investment rate. According to him, Penang is a good place to invest in. Penang property info that he got me is pretty much comprehensive, inclusive of Penang local info market trends. I was really impressed with the research that he did, and to be honest, seeing his research really made me feel like investing in some properties in Penang. I can just imagine living in Penang in a few years time even. It’s pretty much a developed state with clean and productive government.

I was really impressed, and when asked where he get all the local infos and property market trend in Penang, my friend told me that he got it from Propwall. I hopped over and checked it out, and indeed, it’s a very useful website for property buyers, sellers and investors. Propwall is basically a Malaysian accommodation website that it’s a one-stop place for property listings.It’s definitely useful for those who are looking for properties to buy or for those who wants to sell off his or her properties.(Yes, and for those who are looking for a place to rent too)

All you need to do is register and login to the site and you’ll soon not only be able to search for properties that you wanted, but you can also put up your own properties for sale for others to search if you have properties to sell off.The site is pretty much clean and easy to navigate.

The website also provide insight and opinion on what you should and shouldn’t be investing if you want a great returns.

If you’re like me, tired of just working your head off daily just to be able to pay your bills, then perhaps you should hop over to Propwall and consider doing some property investment. Who knows, you’ll hit the real estate jackpot and be much richer than you are now.

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Wordless Wednesday: Something Big, Long and Yellow

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Travel in Style with Flying Nomad

I’m not much of a traveler, but looking at how crazy my life is right now, I am seriously considering to do a lil bit traveling this upcoming Dec. Life is too much to handle and a girl could use some escapism.

I have a few Cuti Cuti Malaysia on shoestring plans, but I’m too vain to travel unstylishly. I like to look good. Yea…I’m a vain pot. There is no cure for that, unfortunately.

And so when I was invited to the launching of Flying Nomad line of clothing in Carcosa Seri Negara last week… I was absolutely thrilled.

Flying Nomad was showcasing the new line of clothing for Autumn and Winter 2013. It was really lovely. But so sorry, no photos of the entire fashion show here cuz my memory card decided to die on me.

The Flying Nomad Autumn/Winter Collection 2013 combined a keen sense of adventure with a renewed fascination for the great outdoors. This season’s colour top colour trends reflect the spirit of wilderness, with nature inspired hues like deep lichen green and emerald green. With bright accents against muted tones, earthly chocolaty colours, checkered prints and houndstooth prints forming the colour palette for it’s collection, Flying Nomad draws it’s inspiration from a quirky blend and nostalgic prints. The collection is anchored on the theme ‘time-travel’, somewhat a modern take on the vintage-inspired style.

Look what I got here in preparation for my upcoming travel in December. A fabulously fashionable but practical bag from Flying Nomad.

Awesomeness overload, in my opinion.

 

Foldable when you’re not using it. Mine is in lovely autumn brown shade and comes with an exclusive Flying Nomad keychain. Can’t wait to put it into good use soon.

Cleffairy: Style should not suffer when you’re traveling.

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Just The Two of Us at The Chicken Rice Shop

It was a very rainy evening, and kiddo and I were stranded in KL Central while waiting for my husband to fetch us. We wanted something heavy and so I decided to just slack around in The Chicken Rice Shop

Ordered this for myself. Chicken rice.

For the first time ever, I did not order the set. I thought since the husband is not around, I’ll do just fine without the beansprouts, pai tee and the cloyingly sweet Nata de coco. Only ordered two combination of chicken, roasted and steamed chicken to go with the fragrant chicken rice. The rice was all right. Nothing to shout and nothing to complain about. The soup and the dip was mediocre…but still…I enjoyed it cuz I skipped lunch and was practically starving.

And as for the little man, I ordered a bowl of plain noodles. He slurped em all up and even hijacked some of my sliced chicken. The soup was flavourful and the veggies was pretty fresh. Noodle texture was springy, just the way my boy likes.

Total bills comes to Rm22.60, inclusive of drinks and tax. I’d say it’s pretty decent considering that sometimes, I pay even more at our regular mamak per meal.

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Wordless Wednesday: Happy Meal

Kiddo’s birthday supper

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Pre-Diwali Celebration with Vibe Hero at Trishna, Hotel Istana

It was 31st Oct 2013. While the rest of the world dressed up in weird and bizarre costumes that night, I donned my Punjabi suit,put on a lil bit of makeup and head over to Trishna Restaurant. No, I did not head over there to celebrate Halloween, but to meet the awesome folks from Vibe Hero and have some wonderful pre-Diwali meals. Initially I wanted to go alone, but apparently the day itself played tricks on me and I ended up going all Bollywood with kiddo and the big kid that night. Oh well…doesn’t matter I suppose. it was kiddo’s birthday too so I guess it is befitting to bring him for some good food though I did threw a party for him in school.

I arrived pretty early and surveyed the place a lil bit.

The gateway to Northern Indian delights. Trishna Restaurant, Hotel Istana.

Spotted something that made me grin a lil bit…my all time favourite Bollywood hero and heroine, Hrithik Roshan and Ashwarya Rai Bachan. Well…not in the flesh, but in the form of Jodha Akhbar’s  poster. I’m a big sucker for this movie. Apart from my all time favourite Kuch Kuch Hota Hai and Kaho Na Pyar Hai, Joda Akhbar is always on my ‘to watch when stressed and miserable list’.

Jodha Akhbar Trailer

Unlike most Bollywood movies, Jodha Akhbar is different in the sense of settings and cultural background. Basically it is a historical Hindustan movie set in the Mogul era, where the love story between the Mughal emperor Jalalluddin Muhammad Akhbar and the Rajput Princess Jodha Bai is told. Though I doubt that the real Mughal emperor and the Rajput princess shared such romantic relationship when they were alive as theirs were a political marriage, the movie adaptation of history is beautiful nevertheless. Highly recommended movie to all hopeless romantic out there.

Now that we have established that I’m a real mush at heart, let us move on before I make a fool of myself drooling over the hunky Hrithik Roshan, shall we?

The interior and the deco in Trishna Restaurant can be described as cozy,spacious and classy.

Private room is also available for those who wants privacy. Staff are helpful and eager to please. And the food? The food surpassed my expectations. I’m not easy to pleased when it comes to sampling Indian food, but the appetizer served got me hooked.

Acchari Chicken Tikka

Juicy and bursting with flavours. Adeptly marinade in myriad of spices. I shamelessly asked for three pieces of this though it was just appetizer and I’m supposed to save space for more.

Paneer Tikka. Paneer means cheese, and being me…I did not asked what I was eating and simply stuffed it into my mouth. Foolishly mistook this for chicken until they told me that it’s cheese. Very flavourful with meaty texture. Again,shamelessly asked for seconds.Yea…I’m that shameless… But hey…I love good food. I can’t help myself! Good food should never go to waste. Hahahaha.

Another chef recommended appetizer that was offered to us was Ajwain Fish.

Never a big fan of fishes. Their bones spooked me and I hate the fishy smell, but these are lovely. They were served in the form of fillet and was well done. Very flavourful and juicy. The usual muddy taste and fishy smell was surprisingly absent. Good enough to tempt me and my boy for seconds. So thumbs up and my salute to the chef for managing to make me eat fish.

Main Dishes

Main dishes on my plate: Mutton Rogan Josh, Butter Chicken, Saag Paneer,Began Aloo, Dhal Makhani, Pulao Rice, Naan Roti Mix.

Dhal Makhani. Now, I’m not a huge fan of Dhal, but this one is surprisingly good, and I practically took a few helpings of this. The boy loves this too, not overly spicy, but flavourful enough on the palate.

Mutton Rogan Josh.This is perhaps the most famous of Kashmiri dishes, and Thrisna does justice to it. This dish is an aromatic dish of Persian origin, which is one of the signature recipes of Kashmiri cuisine. It consists of braised boneless mutton chunks cooked with a gravy based on browned onions or shallots, yogurt, garlic, ginger and aromatic spices. I’ll be frank with you, this dish is to die for, but then again, I’m biased. I’m a bit of a carnivore. I love everything mutton and lamb. My hat’s off to the chef.

Butter Chicken was all right. Creamy and mild. I did not take much of these, but the boys had a few helpings of these.

Saag Paneer turns me off with the colour for a lil while when it arrived. This is an Indian dish consisting of spinach and Indian farmer’s cheese in a thick curry sauce based on pureed spinach. I never did fancy anything green on the plate, but it was cubed cheese was so good that I had to stop myself from taking too much. A must try for all those who loves cheese but hates the overly gooey and cheesy texture.These are solid, and taste positively like meat.

Began Aloo was lovely too. This is a very popular North Indian side dish made with potatoes and brinjals. The subtly spiced vegetable goes very well with Naan roti and Pulao Rice.

Naan Roti Mix in Trishna is not something we’re familiar with. Unlike the ones we can obtain in Mamaks, theirs are thin and rather crispy instead of thick and overly chewy. Love these to bits, and please don’t ask how many of these naan I dipped with all those assorted curries above. You won’t want to know.

Pulao Rice was made from Basmathi rice. It was not only fragrant, but flavourful too. Goes well with the side dishes and curries.

Pickles… for those who don’t like spicy, well, considered yourself warned. These are surprisingly spicy…and sour too. Initially I thought it will be sourish, but gosh, I had a real shock that night!

Salad. Well seasoned. I only had a slice of the tomatoes.Too full from the main dishes to take any more of these.

Dessert was Gulab Jamun. The deep-fried dough balls immersed in sweet syrup is a must try. Not overly sweet and the texture is just nice.

Refreshing fruit punch to wash down all the spiciness with. We were also served with Masala tea, but too bad, I was too busy chatting and ahemm… eating more food as everyone else was snapping away.

Overall, the dining experience in Trishna Restaurant, Hotel Istana is superb. Love the foodto bits. They’re simply authentic and divine. Love the ambiance in Trishna, and I by the time I’ve filled my tummy, I felt positively like a pampered Hindustan Empress. Special thanks to Vibe Hero for the invitation and Mr. Benny Bedi for having us that night. My family and I enjoyed ourselves very much.

See what other foodie thinks about this place here: http://www.vibehero.com/malaysia/kuala-lumpur/trishna

Intend to indulge yourselves with spice, rice and everything nice at a reasonable price? Well check em out.

Trishna Restaurant

Level B1, West Wing,

Hotel Istana,

73, Jalan Raja Chulan,

50200 Kuala Lumpur

Tel: 03-2142 1575 / 012-3750 412

Business Hours: Opens daily from 11am – 3pm and 6pm – 12am

Pork Free: Yes

GPS: 3.149536, 101.709558

Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/trishnarestaurant

Cleffairy: The way to my heart is through my tummy.

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