Chinese Food and Buffet at E & O

I ordered this colorful dim sum of pandan green flavor, strawberry red, black sesame seed and yellow corn filled with meat and steamed with white chinese cabbage in a bamboo steamer. It looks appetising with the four different colors that make an eye candy.

This was ordered at Dragon-I Chinese Restaurant in Gurney Plaza, Penang. It consists of steamed brocolli with sliced abalone and black Shitake mushrooms. The gravy melts in my mouth and it was just as delicious as costly.

This was served at E & O hotel in town with small cups of black grass jelly topped with a flower fruit. Before they start disappearing one by one, I took the opportunity to snap this photo at the start of the buffet.

 

This is butter cake topped with sliced peaches, strawberries and blueberries. It was also sprinkled with almond flakes on the side with white cream. Icing sugar is then sprinkled to complete the serving. 

 

These are glasses of pudding with longan, cut dragon fruit and water melon. They certainly look tempting, don't they? I love dining at Sarkies Corner at E & O hotel.

 

This is the seafood corner with fresh prawns, raw salmon and raw oysters with lemon wedges. My second sister just loves fresh oysters and had 17 of them! Then she was down with flu the following day, but thank goodness she recovered quickly after a visit to the family doctor before she flew back to Suchou, China to continue lecturing as part of her job. 

Medical Uniforms

This is a little off topic from the usual pictures of food or recipes. Anyway, I am going to talk about it here in my paid personal domain. You might like to know that I have gone for an orthodontic surgery to remove 6 permanent teeth to straighten my overlapping teeth. That was done in Singapore in the 1990s. I had to wear braces for 3-4 years continuously and it was troublesome to brush my teeth. I endured the inconveniences and regular visits to the orthodontist.

When I was at the hospital waiting for teeth extraction, I noticed that the medical staff were all donned in medical uniforms over their usual attire. This makes them look efficient and clean. There are also nursing scrubs on sale where you can check out the link given. For the female hospital staff, they can wear peaches uniforms to look more feminine.

This is the standard practice in all hospitals to have their medical staffs all donning their medical uniforms or scrubs to look more professional and for anti-septic environment. Do you know that I did study Biology up to A levels in the hope of doing well to study medicine, but alas, that was not to be. Instead, I took up Computer Engineering and am now happily settled down to work at a home office which is equipped with a multi-functional printer that can photocopy, scan and print in color. There is also a facsimile machine, laptop, desktop with LCD monitor and a digital camera.

Carpet cleaning Austin

This is off topic from the usual food and recipes post but I am going to talk about my experience working in a carpet shop inside an upmarket shopping mall. I have learnt a lot from my short stint working in this small company after taking one year's break from work to recuperate from all the stress and pressure. I have learnt useful marketing tactics which is postage marketing from my senior while working in this carpet shop. All I had to do was to type out 30 addresses from the yellow pages every day and check that the postal code is correct. After 1 week, I have more than 200 potential clients to send out the post cards to. This is a very effective and cheap method to advertise directly to our clients but time consuming and labor intensive. We got a few clients who walked in showing us the mailed post card with discounts if they purchase within a certain period.

Anyway, if you are staying inn Austin, you might like to check out professional carpet cleaning equipment austin or if you have silk rugs, then this link silk rug cleaning austin will come in handy. There is also slate tile cleaning austin to browse through. Hence, cleaning carpets need not be a chore anymore as you can contact the professionals to do the job for you.

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