Hot on a trail for Nyonya laksa, my crew and I found ourselves in Melaka last Friday. Now if KL seemed like the inside of an oven recently, Melaka was that oven cranked up to the highest setting. Whew! Was it hot, hot, hot. Our gracious host for the day was Mrs. Ee Yong Neo (yes from the same talented family as the now infamous Baba Ee). She used to run a popular coffeeshop serving nasi lemak, nyonya laksa and economy rice. Nowadays, she relaxes with her two dogs, a rather excitable terrier pup and a more laid-back Shih-Tzu. Man, I have no idea how furry creatures can survive in this sweltering heat.
The front of her house still has long tables and chairs from her coffeeshop days. She was all set with the ingredients when we got there. It appears that Melaka Nyonya laksa also has quite a number of ingredients and the only one I've seen so far that uses candlenuts… Continue reading »
It’s natural for me to think of butter, lemon, sage or rosemary the minute I think of roasting a chicken. These are just the typical ingredients to make a beautiful crisp roast. This is why I got to thinking…couldn’t a roast be just as if not more tasty with fragrant Asian ingredients?

I want to blog a bit about the recent 'hoopla' when our Tourism Minister Dato Sri Dr Ng Yen Yen said that we needed to protect our food heritage. This came to light when someone posted a thread on FriedChillies on some news coverage about this. I thought that it's probably best to wait until the heat has died down a little before putting this up so here it is. You see, if we Malaysians are really interested in getting people to know about our food on a global basis, this will be a more like a marathon instead of a sprint. So a month or two worth of delayed posting I think would not matter much.
Firstly, it's about time we heard kick a** statements like this from our Government instead of being all 'lets try to negotiate and see'. Sometime we have to take… Continue reading »
I was away from the office last week travelling with a troupe of design enthusiasts. Our destination was Bangkok, Thailand, currently known as one of the hot spots for creative talent. Here, wit and humour is often injected into the culture. Apart from the delicious tom yam and foy thong, Bangkok is known as the most creative city in Southeast Asia.
With the other creative peeps from Design Circus, I had the chance to attend the Bangkok Design Festival 2009. The festival itself was held in few places in the city, I however was only able to attend the exhibits at the Bangkok Arts and Cultural Center.
The Bangkok Arts and Cultural Center (BACC), located in the Sukhumvit area, is where you can find many interesting shop lots that sell refined artsy stuff. It showcases a variety of art forms such as graphic design, interiors, architecture,… Continue reading »
Since I was a child, I have always viewed every different festive occasion and cultural custom with great interest. I love Christmas, the lantern festival, Deepavali… I admire the perseverance of those who show great strength during Thaipusam, and the infinite wisdom of Buddhist teachings. Overall I feel extremely lucky to be living within a country where I am able to witness and learn about other cultures and religions apart from my own. I feel this gives me a deeper understanding and respect of others.
Being a Muslim, I recently experienced Ramadan - the once a year, month long fasting season for Muslims. The general idea is that from dawn to sunset, we make a vow that refrains us from eating or drinking. Going deeper, Ramadan is a time of patience, reflection and humility; and a time for us to try to become better people. It is a month of remembering the poor,… Continue reading »
Yes it's the silly season where for some odd reason, you enter a shop completely thinking you are going to be sensible and then... you buy this...



Chocolate lounges. That seems to be the in thing now. Something different to the food scene no doubt, but the idea of a place with a whole menu of different items made with chocolate sounds like a meal that screams sugar high while I'm more of a savoury kinda person Unimpressed as I was, I decided to try it out.
The Theobroma Lounge has a lot of publicity so I headed over to the branch in One Utama. They have two others, one in Bangsar and another in Pavillion. No doubt, the layout of this café was very well thought out. It’s warm and comforting, like hot chocolate on a rainy day. The dessert and chocolate display would have the average chocolate lover drooling. I ordered two drinks, a walnut brownie, and a quiche to see if they are good in the savoury department. The drinks were “ The Princess of Iceland” and the “Queen Of Rock And Roll”. Yeah, they do… Continue reading »
Day 1: Long Lunch, Cool Chef, Tall Tower -- Melbourne Food & Wine Festival : Since Friday we've been the guests of Victoria who…
Al Rashwa -- Middle East : I first caught wind of this Lebanese restaurant through…
A Coconut Kind of Day… -- Encounters : Hot on a trail for Nyonya laksa, my crew and I found…
Cut the Crab -- Seafood : ‘Cut The Crab’, which marks itself as ‘fusion…
Delucca -- Italian : This is the sort of spot to enjoy a hearty Italian…
Cut the Crab -- ‘Cut The Crab’, which marks itself as ‘fusion BBQ’, is a relatively…
Kak Laily Nasi Ayam Original -- It's hard to find halal nasi ayam hawkers that has been serving 'kai…
Delucca -- This is the sort of spot to enjoy a hearty Italian dinner and on Friday…
Tapper's Cafe -- The Colonial décor and ambience at Tapper’s makes it the ideal…
Al Rashwa -- I first caught wind of this Lebanese restaurant through my brother,…
Day 1: Long Lunch, Cool Chef, Tall Tower -- Melbourne Food & Wine Festival : Since Friday we've been the guests of Victoria who…
Watch Cake Boss on Discovery Travel & Living -- Announcement : I am no dummy in the kitchen. I cook, bake, and experiment…
FriedChillies Office Launch -- Events : Our beautiful office is finally ready and we wanted…
Bend ‘n’ Bake 12 Cup Mini Muffin Pan -- Product Review : I got this snazzy silicone mini muffin pan for Christmas…
The Simpsons Organic Pasta -- Product Review : Well I guess Bart's well known caption 'Eat My Shorts'…
Cuisinart: 4-Slice Belgian Waffle Iron -- Product Review : I enjoy the texture of waffles…crisp on the outside…
A Coconut Kind of Day… -- Encounters : Hot on a trail for Nyonya laksa, my crew and I found…
Asian Roast Chicken -- Kitchen Capers : It’s natural for me to think of butter, lemon, sage…
Food Fight! -- Makan Musings : I want to blog a bit about the recent 'hoopla' when…
Nasi Lemak Antarabangsa (restaurant @ ttdi jaya) : Im not sure if this has come up… -- March 15, 2010 : 03:12 pm
Cari Makan : How about going for a food crawl… -- March 15, 2010 : 04:48 am
Filipino Cuisine, Tinolang Manok! : -- March 14, 2010 : 01:44 am
Adly, don't you agree that this come too late??? : @babe_kl. Actually, a lot of the… -- March 11, 2010 : 05:56 pm
The Bone of Contention : who??? me??? LOL -- March 02, 2010 : 10:44 pm