Craving for Pizza

This coming Chinese New Year of the Rabbit, I will be going to Hadyai in Thailand for a break of 3 days and 2 nights with my family - my parents and two younger sisters. We have chartered a van to go there and spend Chinese New Year in a foreign country. At the same time, Pizza Hut has come up with a new pizza with lots of corn flakes surrounding the crust. It is known as the ring of fortune, aptly named because of its shape symbolizing the Chinese coin as shown below.

There is also blt pizza where you can click to check out the simple-to-prepare recipe. As a home science student in my later years, I used to collect recipes and try them out whenever I am free. My favorite is cheese omelette that can be prepared in a jiffy, and comes in handy when you need to rush to run errands or in a hurry to go for work and take a fast meal.

I have more recipes to share and here is another one -stuffed shells recipe for the busy homemaker. Cooking at home does not have to be a chore anymore nor a drudgery. You can try out easy to prepare recipes that are healthy yet tasty - right in your kitchen.

Merry Christmas 2010 and Some Lovely Photos

 

Above is a picture taken in Penang of red and green Christmas theme with red candles and poinsettias and spiky green Christmas leaves. Today is Christmas Eve on the 24th December 2010 and I will be spending most of the time later on travelling for a short break.

 

This is a nice Christmas tree taken locally with wrapped up presents, golden bells and baubles to decorate the otherwise bland tree.

Here is another shot of a different Christmas tree with Santa's cap right at the top instead of a star!

 

This was the high tea we had recently at 1885 Restaurant in E & O hotel. Since my friend is a member, we used up the free voucher before it expires at the end of the year.

 

Part of the high tea with sandwiches and buns. I had orange cream tea which came in a pot. It was simply flavorful and I loved the hint of orange peel in it. Well, that's it for now. Merry Christmas 2010 and Happy New Year 2011.

Many Types of Desserts - Cakes, Cream Puffs, Jellies

 

Here are some cakes taken at a hotel buffet dinner recently. These are slices of melted butter cake topped with sinful chocolate, strawberries, green cherries and slices of grapes with rich white cream.  As it was still early when we entered the dining area, I took the liberty to snap some gorgeous photos of the cakes displayed on the buffet table.

 

Doesn't the picture above look tempting? I have removed the background noise using Photoshop so that the focal point is the plate of cheese cakes garnished with cut fruits of various types like oranges, strawberries and apples. The plate is also attractive and makes the food photo stands out.

 

This is a plate of cream puffs sprinkled with slices of strawberries and apples. For this set of dessert photos, I have taken quite a lot of time to remove the black dull background and fill it with white instead. 

This is rose flavored jelly garnished with cut fruits on a colorful dessert plate. The combination of colors from the fruits paired with jelly makes this dessert very tempting and sinful.

This is pandan green cake with yellow butter sponge cake. Pandan is a herbaceous tropical plant with long green leaves. In Southeast Asia, pandan leaves are used to lend a unique taste and aroma to many Thai desserts and some drinks. Pandan leaves can also be used to wrap savory foods, such as chicken. Pandan paste is used in cakes and desserts, as it is sweet and imbues foods with a bright green color. It can be purchased as a ready-to-use paste in Asian specialty stores. If purchased fresh, pandan leaves should be pounded into a paste for use in desserts, adding water sparingly.

This is another gorgeous photos of butter sponge cake covered with cream and garnished with bits of chocolate, cherries and other fruits. Hope you enjoy looking at my set of dessert photos taken recently at a local hotel in Penang during my dining pursuit for the weekend.

Lunch at Tree Monkey Jungle Themed Dining

Yesterday, I treated my mum and myself to an outdoor jungle themed dining with Balinese teak wood furniture at Tree Monkey Thai Food Restaurant. It was opened just a few months ago sometime in September, if I am not mistaken. There is a nice view overlooking the sea from the hill lock.

This is the ambiance of Tree Monkey, situated on a small hill lock between Batu Feringghi and Teluk Bahang in Penang. It is mainly catered for tourists, which explains the slightly more expensive price than the usual ones for cheap Penang. 

 We ordered Asian Tapas for RM60.00 with 8 different dishes as stated below which I copied from the menu:

1) Mango salad - green mango salad with shallot and chilly lime sauce.

2) Satay - grilled chicken skewer served with peanut sauce.

3) Crispy herbs fish - deep fried seabass fillet with crispy spices and herbs.

4) Prawn chilly paste - stir-fried prawns with chilly paste.

5) Sweet bean curd

6) Kangkung belacan - stir-fried morning glory with shrimps paste.

7) Masaman curry - red curry chicken, potatoes, onions and cashew nuts.

 8) Tomkha soup - creamy chicken soup with galangal and lemongrass.

Another view of Asian Tapas. I loved the banana leaves that lined the food. It makes the food more interesting and appetizing. Yum, I am hungry now just looking at them. 

See the atap roof of the small restaurant that can seat a capacity of 70 people and reservations are recommended. When my mum called them, there were still vacant tables as it was newly opened and hence, not many people patronize this little Thai restaurant yet. The crowd has yet to come and we were lucky to get a good table overlooking the azure blue sea and near the trees. 

What was left of Asian Tapas after we fired the food with hungry stomachs!

 There is a little souvenir shop next to the restaurant which was inter-connected. I chance upon the opportunity to snap this souvenir gifts of bundled cinnamon sticks with Christmas decorations with Christmas less than 2 months away!

The basket woven table mat was placed for us as we waiting for our order.

 The short path to Tree Monkey which was just a minute's walk up the slope.
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Both mum and I had spice tea which was cinnamon tea. There seems to be cinnamon in abundance here. 

Our servings of Asian Tapas with Tomkha soup and spice tea added with condensed milk.

The entrance to Tree Monkey which was next to Tropical Spice Garden near Teluk Bahang, Penang. It is was different concept of nature dining with a splendid view of the open sea. 

My turmeric-coloured yellow rice with banana leaf to enhance the appetite. For more details, check out http://www.treemonkey.com.my

Pictures of Mooncakes

I was busy recently and did not update this blog for some time. Anyway, here are some of the pictures of mooncakes that I had last month during the Mooncake Festival. Above is free mooncakes given by the hotel that my youngest sister stayed in Shanghai for her managers' meeting there. Three boxes have been taken out and given away leaving three more here. Notice the nice pattern of the box that is different from the conventional metal tin.

This is the Dragon Fruit Mooncake that I bought from Gurney Plaza that is made of lotus seed, bamboo charcoal powder for its jet black color, dragon fruit, sugar syrup, palm oil, melon seed and permitted food conditioner.

Another photo of the dragon fruit mooncake that is cut. The taste was quite nice and unusual as you seldom find dragon fruit flavor.

This is the greentea mooncake with the ubiquitous brown skin which is more common. The brown color came about as it is baked in the oven.

Here is a mixture of the mooncakes slices.

This is durian jelly mooncake that was order from a hotel restaurant while we were on business trip in Malaysia.

This is one of the 3 layer cakes from Kuching where my youngest sister went for her Choice church group. I like the unusual blue colored layer. It is chocolate almond layer cake.

Sundanese Food in Bandung, Indonesia

I went to Bandung with my second sister for a 4 days 3 nights tour in Indonesia. Bandung is also known as 'Paris van Java' in Dutch or simply 'Paris of Java'. It is known for its fashionable clothes that are very affordable because of factory overflow. I have blogged about my trip here in Protips - my Holidays in Bandung. You can check out 7 beautiful photos taken in this post.

Above is an attractive menu in one of the Sundanese restaurants that we dined in. It is designed in a typical Indonesian style with lots of brown theme to represent wood and basket weaving.

Here is my order of the Sundanese food of ayam bakar or barbequed chicken, some cucumbers, otak (steamed fish with coconut milk, spices and wrapped in banana leaf), sambal (chilly paste with belacan). The cutleries are mostly made from baskets that are synonymous with Indonesian culture. The white steamed rice was served in a bigger basket receptacle.

We went to another restaurant after visiting a dormant volcano called Mount Tangkuban Perahu in Bandung or also known as an upside down boat as it is shaped like that. This is the long table and ambience of the place. There are lots of weavings infused in the furniture that is typical of the culture here.

Most of Sundanese dishes won't make do without cucumbers and 'belacan'. This is not the usual long cucumber that you normally find in the markets but a round type of vegetable that tastes just like a cucumber.

Here is my buffet breakfast selection at the 4-star Aston Braga Hotel in Bandung. Aston Braga hotel is a very convenient hotel to stay as just downstairs are many shops with high-end eateries to cater to the tourists.

This is another shot of the buffet spread consisting of doughs, breads, buns, croissants and your usual fare of breakfast food of carbohydrates for energy early in the morning.

This is the section for fruits consisting of carved papaya, watermelon, pineapple, honeydew melon, etc to add zest, minerals and vitamins to your diet. There's plenty of anti-oxidants here to prevent cancer.

For desserts, we had this 'kuih' or some sweet tangy and soft mouthfuls made from sago and coconut milk.

These are 2 slices of Honey Cake which Indonesia is famous for. It has lots of perforations and is spongy with lots of holes in it. Apparently it is steamed when in liquid form and the bubbles create the perforations to give a soft texture to the bite.

During one of the days of tour, I had vegetables soup as I was down with flu on the first day. Thank goodness, upon arrival, we could rest the whole evening when I recovered after buying some cough and anti-vomit medication from the pharmacist on the ground floor of the hotel.

I ordered this Sundanese food for dinner as my sister insisted on it and she loves Sundanese food - since we could not have in back home in Penang. It consists of tauhu goreng or fried flat bean curd.

Dinner at Clinic Cafe - A Hospital Themed Restaurant

Last night, I had dinner at this hospital theme set up restaurant on the 4th floor of Gurney Plaze. What attracted my attention was the many first time diners thronging to this splendidly designed cafe that looks just like a hospital. Even the waitresses wear nursing uniforms with face masks! You can even find posters normally found in clinics on health and the various parts of the body to educate the masses. The tables and chairs were specially designed to look like those taken from a hospital with plenty of red PVC cushions as backing. There were also syringes and surgery tools exhibited behind glass panels.

This was my order of breaded fish fillet cut in stripes and deep fried till golden brown. Notice the syringe of tomato sauce on the right side. I thought this was very innovative. Even the drinks come in beakers and various shapes that you can find in a chemical lab. The food was not too expensive considering its hospital like ambience and comfortable red soft cushions on the seats. Since it was Malaysia's national day on 31st August, the Malaysian flag on a toothpick was added to the cuisine.

This was another order of black pepper chicken noodles that tasted quite yummy and piquant with lots of black pepper thrown in and served in a stainless steel kidney-shaped bowl. Overall, the food tastes quite good with reasonably good price below RM10.00 a dish. Though we waited quite some time, apparently the cook forgot our order, we were nevertheless not disappointed as after the second reminder, they quickly served the food in 5 minutes after a wait for half an hour or so. But time flies quickly as we were also entertained with flat screen TV shows of Tom and Jerry - a feel good and humorous flick.

Not only the tables and chairs look like those in a hospital, the lights resemble surgery lights in an operating theatre as shown above. I must give credit to the interior designer for putting all these minute details to resemble a hospital setting.

This is the surgery room (notice the wordings behind the counter) that whips up beakers of drinks for the diners. I certainly find this restaurant amusing and even the 'nurse' waitress wear black stockings besides the face mask. This hospital themed food cafe is much better than a toilet theme outlet in Queensbay Mall where you sit on toilet bowls at chairs and food served in toilet bowl-like receptables! I don't even bother to walk inside and try this place.