Ice cream , guilt no more!

Almost 9/10 girls worry about gaining weight. Even the ugliest girl worry about gaining weight. That explains the mushroom growing of all those bloody-fake-sweet-promises slimming programmes that bombarded almost half of the classified section in our daily newspaper.

And then , you'll hear a lot of weight -concious girls saying , " I DONT TAKE ICE KELEM. VERY FAT ARRRRR".. yea ,i said that too. so , since technology is so good now , they come up with this great inovation of "almost-fat-free" ice cream, or ice-shave, or snow ice , or sorbet-ish. haha.

Ofcourse , we Kuching are always late in everything. But nvm , cant blame anyone. So , HEY , it finally arrived. The Charmfood decided to expand their wings to Kuching and i'm so BLESSED that they actually open nearby my house. They are a franchised based in Taiwan and started their business in 1979. and only arrive kuching in 2007. You do the Math. heh!

The shop's name is Igloo , hence the place is architered like an igloo , with all the penguin and ice kind of thing. The place is small so i didn't quite dare to take photo coz the shop is packed and if i snap a photo , everyone will be looking at me with their mouth open wide, and jaw breaking. The moment you enter the shop , you'll be greeted welcome by practically all the waitress there . If you notice , almost all Taiwan-ish shops are like that. I find it quite annoying tho' . btw, Igloo is situated right opposite 688 shop , beside Everise 4th Mile's building.

Anyway , having to go only twice , i've tried three flavours already. And i went thr twice in a stretch. hehe.Oh , and every cup (the cup is big) , cost you rm4.80 , with tax.

Milky snow-ice with red bean



i'm always a fan of red bean which most ppl claim that it is "ah-ma-ish" coz "budak zaman kini" prefer strawberries, kiwis, passion fruit or mango. who cares. uekkk.

Green tea snow-ice with red bean


heh. red bean again. why? kenot ar? =P i love this one , coz green tea is one of my favourite flavour ever since my mum bought the japanese flavoured green tea cake that cost a bomb. If green tea is your fav, i recon you'll love this one coz the green tea smell is strong and PUR-FECT. i love this one!


Coffee flavoured snow ice with chox rice and chox sauce
(sorry for the a bit blur pic. was too excited to eat it. haha)

this one is the lady's recommendation to me after looking at my puzzled face coz i didn't know what to order. It's nice , coffee smell is not too strong like the espresso's flavour in Scoops. The espresso coffee in Scoops still give me goosebumps. hehe.
chef mel rating : 7/10


Having to go two days in a stretch , i kinda "make-fren" with the boss already. She told me quite a bit about the shop , but i didn't quite understand it coz she speaks FLUENT mandarin . But , she told me the snow ice is actually imported from Taiwan, from Charmfood itself. And it's 70 % fat free. The service there is good too. Very friendly. infact , Chef Mel's latest obsession!!!! haha!



In conclusion , this place is worth your visit. good service , good stuff , most of all , you dont have to worry after eating . Not recommended for underweight Ppl tho , since it's almost fat free. HAHA.

SO,
Overweight ppl go to Igloo.
Underweight ppl go to Scoops.

HEHE. =D

Hilton Kuching , Waterfront Cafe`

Yesterday, i went to meet out with my 5G classmates. It's been LONG time since we last went out together. The 5G-aiks! :)

So where did we go ? *ahem* HILTON's waterfront cafe.. *grin* Wanted to go for sushi buffet in Riverside but it was *woot*woot* FULL. Kuching people so l-i-c-h hor?

Show you all the interior 1st.

The typical restaurant style. I kinda think the interior looks like Riverside's?except Riverside's waiter and waitress wears ugly flourecent yellow uniform.





Like normal, Hotel's restaurant always serve you bauguette 1st. I think the ones in riverside is nicer , but Hilton's looks more appetizing and cute. And they serve you again if it's finish. ^_^



What we had?

Lasagna al forno

I think it taste just nice. But not rich in taste. Slightly dry, but quite a lot of meat.
Chef Mel rating : 6/10


Char Grilled Lamb Rack


I wanted it medium , but it came WELL DONE. not only well done, but SUPER well done. So , it's TOO dry , and too SALTY. uekk.However i like the mashed potato , but it's soooo lil!!!! Chef Mel rating : 5/10


Filled Chicken Breast with Risotto

This is Jessica's choice after asking us what is risotto. The rissoto is too cheezy making it taste like VOUMIT. i didn't like it. While the chicken breast is.. too dry?but it taste ok.top with onion rings, and i like the onion rings! Chef Mel rating : 6/10

Norweigan salmon salad


This one is nice. It is served with mango salsa and the mango salsa is superb! Also served with lettuce, bean sprouts, and a lime. The portion is small , but i think it's nice :P Chef Mel rating : 7/10

French Fries

Nothing special. But look at the portion. o.O SO LIL. and it's like 7 bucks!
However it's not soggy and it's cooked till golden brown. :P Chef Mel rating : 9/10


OH, and now the best MENU!!!!

Udang Galah cili padi!



OK , i know it's weird since all above are western food. But we decided to order this prior to the waitress recomendation. And it's SUPERB!the rice is perfect . Im very particular about eating nice, soft rice, cooked with correct water level. And its SO PERFECT. The jungle fern is actually the best i've eaten in my 20 years living!! The pickled stuff i didn't try coz i abhor cucumber.
The udang galah is cooked "lemak" with "daun kunyit" , and it tasted good together with the rice. I'm giving this 9.5 /10 because , the udang galah is not fresh. Other than that , it's perfect!


Only 5 of us went for the dinner , but Sam joined us later with his hunky brother. We went to scoops, just opposite Hilton. I FOUND MY FAV ICE CREAM!!! it's yoghurt flavour and it tasted soo good! :P I like the rapsberry too.The interior is nice, But i think they have problem with the hygiene of the place. The sofa is so sticky and the table , is omg, NOT WIPED, full with ice cream melts! oh and the gays are making out thr.. it's Jo and yueh lee. heh!

Chinese New Year 2007

First day of CNY , is over again in just a blink of eye. Many would agree the best day during CNY is the reunion and the 1st day.

What do we enjoy most during CNY?

FOOD! and excessive fireworks, and lots of gambling. I dont gamble tho. well i almost never gamble. ;)

My reunion and my 1st day went well. Nothing special. Practically every year is the same. haha. Anyway i took pictures of what i ate for the first day. :)

The Long-life noodle.





This is my favourite dish on every morning of the 1st day of cny.The noodle is long and it signifies longevity. The noodle is cooked dried prawns, chilie, garlic and a little shallots. All those are blended. Then fry it with red leek which resembles having money to count all year long, and chinese sausage.ALso add in egss for more flava'.



Thai style Sea asparagus.



Sea asparagus is easily bought in the supermarkets especially during the cny season. Retailing around rm20 -rm24 for one can , depanding on brand. I've tried most of the brands, but i think all tasted the same. The sea asparagus is cooked, so u need not need to cook it again. Then u mix it with onion, chinese parsley, "bunga kantan", and the thai chilli sauce. And lastly squeeze the lime :P


Jelly fish ala Chinese


The jelly fish is cleaned, then , mix together the blended chilli sauce and blended peanuts. then wa la la. :P



Fish Maw, Pig's tendon and meat balls soup.



This is a normal chinese soup. Boiled together with chicken feet and pig's knuckles so that the soup will be "full of taste" and not blunt. After that just add in the Fish Maw, Pig's tendon and the meat balls.


The pig's throtter. (the leg not some "spare parts". lol)





It's normally cooked few days before CNY, and then you wrapped it in a towel. CLEAN NEW TOWEL. then put it in the fridge and serve it chilled. Dip it with blended chilli sauce. :P The secret to a nice blended chillie sauce is to put the preserved beans inside. ^_*



Chicken Curry with potatoes.


What more can i say, It's just a curry. LOL


Oreo Cheesecake



My mum made the best oreo cheesecake, and its not like the one in the shop. Most of the shops crunched the oreo while i dun like it that way. I like it to be pieces. The whole piece of oreo! :) Taste good if you served with wine.



Bird Nest's Soup.




It's normally slow-cooked for hours , cooked with a lil water and rock sugar and pandan leaves for a nice aroma. Bird nest is known for the cut - throat-price, but it's good for the skin. I'm Lovin it! :P

And ofcourse i Had lots of tit bits , 12 cartons of carbonated drinksss.. woooo.


The best day of New Year has just passed again, and we'll have to wait for another year again. But i guess it's worth all the wait. :)

Happy New Yearr!

Chef Mel wishes all readers...


HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR, and may the year of boar brings you lots of new opportunities!

cheers!

Tom yam!

supposedly is "putra nilai". But i miss the P! haha!!!


heh!

i had always been a fan of tom yam but i was NEVER, (not even once) satisfied with the tomyam i had outside.

but this time, i am FINALLY satisfied with one tomyam ! I had this in Nilai , about 2 hour drive (or more) from the city of "kayy-elll"

I was told that this shop specialize in their tomyam. (hence , the name of the shop) The tomyam here is very different from the one usually served in other restaurant. I was never satisfied with the tomyam outside because i find they usually use either the tomyam cube or the bottle paste which you can easily buy in the supermarket. i find those had "a - weird- smell" that i do not how to describe. Heh! And this tomyam does not had "that smell" i hate! HOLLA! and one the reason that makes the tomyam special here is the spicyness ! it is very spicy but not till the point you cant hold it if you're a chillie freak like me :P I do not usually finish a big bowl of soup in the restaurant cz i tend to get full by the time i finished half of it, but this one , i finished the whole bowl! :P Great~! oh from the picture, you see there's a lot of soup, but inside the soup it is also BLESSED with tonnes of fresh prawns... :P

i also had their fried bee hoon cooked with sambal cili. it's so cili-licous! :D

Chef Mel rating : 10/10

Banana leaf rice

Being a chinese , we often use the chopsticks with a spoon , or the modern ones use fork and spoons , and the pathetic ones use spoon with the "help" of another hand.

But hey , Ever thought of eating in a different way sometimes?

I had this chance to visit this Indian restaurant some time ago , and they do not use plates, but banana leaf. it's popular in the west, but im not sure whether we have it here in Kuching. (mayb i'll open the 1st one. tee hee ) They will serve u rice , and 5 other "typical" indian side dishes. which i dont know the name.then you can opt for the few types of curry gravy for your rice. oh they also serve you fried chilli , chips and banana chips...and some yoghurt ting. hahha Thats the basic , and it cost RM 5. Then , u can get the other types of side dishes with many varieties of curry to choose from , and fried stuff. I chose the spiciest one during my many visit there. Most of them who goes there eat with their hands, so i did too. I thought it was pretty fun! heh! :P no , this is not the 1st time i ate with hands. I used to like the malay style of eating with hands when i was young so i learnt it too. haha. Not the disgusting way of eating with hand , but the right way .

Anyway , below are all the pics i took.din take much ,coz i was busy eating. haha. :P


oh , and you're suppose to cover it this way , as a symbol , the food is nice , and u want to come again. ^_^ if u fold it the oposite way , it means , you dont like the food , and do not want to come again :P


oooohh.. IM LOVIN IT!

THE WORST FOOD AWARD

If kenny sia has the best food award, i'll present to you guys the worst food award!

Guess what food is the picture above?

IT IS THE "SMELLY TO-FU" [ chou tou fu ]

Apparently it is very popular in Taiwan , and MANY people enjoy eating it. Even in KL , it is so damn popular and you often see entertainers eating it in TV. So , i was furious, and i wanted to try too. I ordered one set (comes in four) and was all excited about eating it. Every piece cost 80 cents and you must order four. (the place i ate)it is deep fried and served with pickled cabbage and chillie sauce. the taste? OMG. it is so friggin smelly and i almost voumitted at my first bite. It's like i am eating to-fu in dip in the trienekens truck. No kidding. I ordered four , and i didn't want to waste (i went with my aunts, and they're the type who do not waste food) , so i had to eat another 2 finish. My sis ate one and didnt wanna help me ! :( Even when i am typing this i can still remember how it smells like. Really can die dot com! I do not understand why ppl are enjoying eating something so smelly? i can understand ppl enjoy eating durian or "ikan masin", but not this. Like thr is no difference eating rubbish you noe?.......... Freaks me!

When i got home, i brush my teeth , wash my whole mouth again and again, and the FRIGGIN smell is still there. DAMN SIAO! i am the ones who loves food, but i dont mind to die if im served this again.

*btw, i ate this in Kajang.

fish pond

took tis in some place in kch.......

This post is specially dedicated to Stef to make her "lau nua", and flood NZ. *grin*

LAKSA SARAWAK!!!!!


when you have all this in your bowl of laksa,you're near, VERY NEAR to orgasm.

the Vermicelli. one of the most important ingredients in laksa. it mustn't be overcook or too soft. use the thicker beehoon (vermicelli), instead of those realli thin ones. i tink it kinda spoil the laksa taste. this is how your vermicelli is suppose to look like.

the omellete. doesnt matter much. but i like i mine to be juz cook and must nt be brown. im fussy :P


the chicken. it taste better if it's done in thigh, but breast , wont make much diff too.




Some ppl dun like Bean sprouts in their laksa.I used to hate it too. I dun noe when i grew to like it. BUT , only if it's cook at the right way. NEVER OVER COOK IT. otherwise, ur laksa is a bowl of crap.

Fresh "crispy" prawn. :) I dun understand why sum ppl judge a laksa by the size of the prawn. In fact this is the perfect size of a prawn that suits laksa. not too big, not too small.



THE MOST IMPORTANT , THE GRAVY!it musnt be too thick , but just right and soothing to sooothe the laksa lust in you.haha. yes , laksa is like sex. haha. You noe , the right way to enjoy a bowl of laksa is when , a bowl of hot laksa is served to you , and u take the 1st sip of the soup, u close your eye n enjoy it. If u dont, the laksa merely sucks. Whenever i take my 1st sip, i always smile and close my eyes, if it's really good. :)

a good laksa , comes along with a great sambal. And the perfect sambal is suppose to look like this. not like .. chocolate cakes in your toilet. I hate the fact that sometimes some ppl make good laksa , but their sambal sucks. it kinda makes the whole "laksa-mood" gone. A good sambal musn't be too hot , nor nt spicy at all. :) thr's some secret to make a good laksa sambal tho. *winkszzz* and the optional parsley and lime. some like corriander tho, but i hate it.






this is a home cook laksa, cooked by my mum , and tis bowl is the one i made for myself. Notice that i had a lot of gravy all over the beehoon and stuffs, tat is coz i like laksa to be this way. Remember guys, LAKSA is all ABOUT THE GRAVY, it doesnt matter how many prawns it has. or how many chicken they put, or the dozens of omellete. . Some how, the bean sprout make a big part (like i said above), coz if it has the "smell" , it kinda affect the laksa.(at least to me) haha.

Anyway, a good laksa is when it taste good eventho it's juz the vermicelli and the gravy along with sambal.

I'll try to blog all the popular laksa srwk in various places when im free ^_^