Chili's G Hotel

I was in Penang two weekends back for a brief shopping trip and Gurney was my first stop. First thing first was some "battery-charging" in Chili's!



Both me and my friend weren't particularly starving, so we didn't ordered anything individually.



We had the bottomless tortilla chips as our starters (more like side actually, since we're not having a full course meal). It's much more worth it to order this when you're in big group. For a company of two, the portion for one serving is more than enough.



The salsa complements the tortilla chips well. Slightly sourish with a spicy end. Me like!



We also had the Old Timer's burger with Chili beef as an add on. It costed about RM20 (without tax) and this is probably the cheapest entree you can find in the entire menu.



I requested for it to be medium rare, but I find it a bit too cook for my liking. The beef pattie was too dry and lack a lot in terms of flavors. If it wasn't for the chili beef that we add on, the whole burger is pretty much tasteless. I was also not satisfied with the gherkins used - too soft. Long story short, don't order this.



For drinks I had the Banana Smoothie. It was thick, rich and good. (Somehow I find my description rather erotic - if you know what I mean. lol).

My friend on the other hand had the bottomless Orange Juice. We were suppose to share (refillable), but I decided to order a drink for myself last minute since we already share the tortilla chips and burger and I didn't want to look like a cheapskate. :P

The entire meal costed us close to RM 60 inclusive of tax. I think the tax was about RM 8 (!!). Rather reasonable if you ask me (though not cheap) considering the American portion. (Not exactly pictured here but trust me, pictures can be deceiving. ;p )



And.. it's either my appetite has shrunk and I'm less a glutton now or the portion was really huge cause I actually had a hard time finishing the burger even though I shared it with my friend!

How to prepare American Breakfast

If you're looking for a quick but home cooked breakfast, American breakfast is the answer.

All you need is eggs,milk, baked beans, canned green peas and a little green of your choice. For vegetarian, that's probably all you can have.hehe.

But if you're a meaterian like me, you can add in sausages and bacon.



I used the sausage range from Solisege (available at Cold Storage) and I highly recommend this brand. They're a little pricey tho', about RM 22 for 5 huge ones.



To prepare the scramble egg, whisk the egg with milk ( A tablespoon of milk for each egg), half teaspoon of butter (for two eggs), black pepper, salt and pepper. Cook them like how you cook the normal omelet.



Then, pan fry both the bacon and sausage. The bacon goes in first so you can have the nice aroma of bacon on the sausage.



Garnish the eggs with the canned green peas and have the baked beans at the side. Viola!



This serve great as a breakfast on the bed on a lazy Sunday morning with someone you love. :)

Have a great weekend, peeps. :)

The blog is officially three years old!

Three years ago, i started this blog with a pure intention to share my passion for food and also to improve my English. It wasn't initially meant to be an all food blog but rather a mixture of food post and my personal life.



As time pass by, I realized the cyberspace is no longer a safe place to do your "mental voumit" and I decided to stop writing about my personal life. Plus, I don't actually lead an exciting life. Lol.



I guess my writing style has changed quite a bit as compared to the entries three years ago. To be honest, i felt quite embarrassed with my back logs but I decided to still keep them. There are some personal entries that I deleted tho. ;p



My readers have definitely tripled (not to mention that I am also earning a bit from the blog!) from when I first started and I thank each one of you for reading. I promise all of you with more slurpilicious post ahead! :P

My blog is officially three years old three days ago. And I celebrated it with three tubs of frozen cheesecake sponsored by a loyal reader. *cough cough*. ;P

How to cook seafood Aglio Olio

I think this is by far the easiest recipe featured in Chefmel! It wouldn't take longer than 20 minutes to prepare and cook, I promise!

Ingredients clockwise : Ring cut olives, Emborg whipping cream, Seafood (I chose prawn, squid and oysters) and lastly, the spaghetti.



Place spaghetti in boiling hot water. Remember to add a pinch of salt for the texture of the spaghetti and cook till al dente.



Heat about a teaspoon of butter with olive oil then add in about a clove of chopped garlic and the seafood. Once the outer layer of the seafood is sealed, put in the olives and the cooked spaghetti.



The reason why you put your spaghetti in when the seafood is just done 10% is so that the natural flavors of the seafood would infuse in the spaghetti. Once the seafood is done 100%, add in the cream, mildly stir it, and it's up to go! You shouldn't have it in the pan for too long once the cream is added. Otherwise the cream will "separate" (into butterfat/buttermilk) and what you get is not creamy pasta but instead a plate of thick oily pasta!



Aglio Olio in general is not cream based but I decided to be a little more adventurous and added cream. It tasted superb!



My amazing creation :D

Godiva Chocolate

Google for "Godiva" and you'll get endless pages of people waxing lyrical about this premium Belgium chocolate. Lucky for me, I had the chance taste it recently and here's my two cents about the chocolate.



Costing at RM20, it is certainly a steep price to pay for a small 4 inch bar chocolate. More so from a thin wallet of a student like me.



My verdict? I thought it was just edible, and really nothing to rave about. A typical overrated case.



My vote for the best chocolate goes to Marks and Spencer's. I've tried quite a range of it, and it never fails. ;)

Lily's Vegetarian Kitchen

The night before I arrive in Penang(which was a while ago), my friend texted me to ask what I would like for dinner. I replied, "Anything, something different!"



True enough, the dinner was indeed something different. Vegetarian food! *shrugs* It was my virgin experience eating a vegetarian dinner and I was quite excited even though I have been worshiping meat my whole life. Lol.



I am quite indecisive when it comes to eating and I particularly hate it when the waiter is standing beside me while I'm looking at the menu so I appreciate it a lot when restaurants have this paper "where you can tick what ever you want" and they'll just collect it when you signal them.

However, I didn't like the idea of us paying before getting our meal. In a way, I find myself less appreciated as a customer.



I had the beef steak. It tasted a lot like the beef patties we have in our Ramly burgers. Very much like eating a "naked burger". The gravy though, was a tad bland but since they have a restricted list of ingredients, this could be the best they can come up with.



The friend had chicken chop. Again, the "meat" taste very much like the burger patties. But I find both the chicken "meat" and gravy a little mild on the flavor. The beef steak is better.



My friend's other half had Bak Kut Teh. I was quite surprised it tasted almost identical to the real bak kut teh. Minus the meat. :P



The couple also ordered an extra chicken burger. I think it was a little miscommunication between the two and obviously they couldn't finish it and had to have it take away. Hehe.



What really peeved me (other than the payment part) was that our deserts are served at the same time as our meal. It's a little harsh but I find that rather stupid.

By the time we finish our food, there was already a pool of melted ice cream surrounding the sundae cup. Ish.



The almond jelly would have tasted a lot better if the ice didn't melt and made it fit for a diabetic patient.

The drinks was nothing much to write about. I was actually struggling to finish my drink as I was stuffed from the steak. Vegetarian food are all carb, remember? :)

Overall, I find eating in a vegetarian shop quite exciting. You anxiously take a bite when your food arrive and then gauge how close it taste to the "real thing." I wouldn't mind visiting another one (anytime!), but of course if I was given a choice, I'll definitely go for the real huge fat-squirting slab of steak. Medium rare please. :D

I know I hardly put pictures of myself nor my friends here, but this is a picture of my friend and her Mr.bf.



Thanks for the accomodation! Sorry, you had to be deprived from your "activities" for a week. hehe. :D

How to make Chinese Dumpling ("wo tie")

I seem to be featuring a lot of Western and Fusion recipes, so today we'll get a little in touch with my traditional side. :)

To make the skin you'll need :



Ingredients A:
125g flour
70g water

Ingredients B:
150g flour
80g boiled water

Knead both A and B individually first and when they form a dough, combine it. Then set aside for 30 minutes.

After that, roll the divided dough(like the one pictured above) into thin pieces like this.



If you don't want to go through all the trouble, you can easily buy the ready made skin from the market.

The fillings are very much based on your own liking. You can put anything inside but I chose to put mince pork and prawns. Add in spring onion and seasonings to taste.



Wrap in fillings and mould it into the shape of dumpling. Mine is quite ugly since this is the first time I wrap dumplings :P



Heat up some oil on the already arranged dumplings. Leave it for a couple of minutes and next, add in some water. Cover the pan with a lid and let it simmer till fully cooked.



When the skin of the dumpling is starting to be transparent (not the see through kind la. ;p) and have a little oily surface, the dumpling is done! :)



It's best (obligatory for me!) to dip the dumpling in the ginger + balsamic vinegar.



Close up shot! Omm nom nom.



To all my loyal readers, Happy New Year! Hope the year 2010 will be a great year for everyone. :)