A chapter is closed

"All my begs are packed, I'm ready to go... " John Denver's Leaving on a Jet Plane.


After spending three years up north, I'm leaving the place for good. Yes, i won't deny there is a tad of bitterness. Not that I like the place, but more like I have accustomed to the place and the people.



I'm still feeling a little numb of the whole i've pre-graduated thing. (still got four months internship!). But ah, it's all good, good, good.

Proper post when i get back home. I need to pack!

p/s : I need a place to stay in Penang for five months beginning June 2010. If you have any friends/relatives/boyfriend/mistress(es) that has a room in Sungai Dua, can you please e-mail me? Otherwise I will be homeless in June 2010 :(

Weekend Recipe : Lamb Cutlets with Potatoes and Vegetables

Finally, had time to take a breather from the books! The whole studying-examination is really not my forte. I'm just glad it's going to be over in five days! Whee.

Since it's weekend and you'll probably have the time to sort the ingredients and prepare them for your friends or family - I thought it'll be nice to do a cooking post. Today we're cooking lamb!



The cutlets of lamb (from the rack) are marinated with Ina Paarman's rosemary seasoning, black pepper and Worcestershire sauce to taste.



Cut the potatoes in half an inch lengthwise. Add in Ina Paarman's potato seasoning to taste.



You can actually opt for any vegetables you like but I chose asparagus, carrots and brocoli. The asparagus aren't exactly of the best quality as I kinda "found them" in the fridge at the time of cooking. Hehe.



Boil the carrot and brocoli beforehand. This is to retain the color of the vegetables when you put them in the pan. (No need for the asparagus cause it takes only a short while to cook.)



Lastly, pan fried the marinated lamb cutlets. Add in the potatoes while you're pan frying the lamb so that the natural flavors of the lamb would caramelized on the outer layer of the potato. Once you're done with the lamb and potatoes, slightly saute the vegetables.



Then, it's time to work the art. :)



Viola! :D

Have a good weekend peeps! This is my last weekend in uni. Feels like I just finished a military national service in the jungle. :P

TuneHotels.com Facebook Fanpage

I'm in the midst of having my final exams. Finale of finals! :D Oklah, not exactly widely smiling now thinking of the number of pages to cover in the least of time. :(

In the mean time, my favorite hotel just launched their fan page a couple of days ago! (they have a Facebook profile launched a year ago as well). Be their fan, ok? They have great people manning their social media networks. :)

I'll be back again for a week's stay next month. Will be alone though this time. Is there anyone who wants to accompany me? Hehe. We'll watch movies and... errr.. watch more movies. ;p The opposite sex will be prioritized. Underaged will also be considered. :p

Haha, Just kidding people. But if you happen to be around Penang in the last week of May, do drop me an e-mail. We'll have char kueh tiau! :D

Penang Food Trail

I just got back from Penang yesterday evening! It was a good food trail, and boy was my stomach satisfied!

A sneak peak of my two days noms noms adventure! Reviews will take a while to be posted. Too many old back logs to clear!

Lorong Selamat Char Kueh Tiau


Been to Penang a gazillion times and finally found out how to go to the place.

Kek Seng Durian Ice Cream Ice Kacang


Had a hard time finding the place on the first day (never trust Google Maps!) but came upon it by accident the next day. Hehe.

New World Park Ice Kacang


Just beside where I was staying and pretty much made my friends had an overdose of Ice Kacang. Lol.

New Lane Night Market


Ordered too much that our table look like a buffet spread! :D

Famous Chicken Rice in Penang Road


On peak hours, you need to wait almost an hour for it! But I went on weekdays, at brunch hours so not much waiting. :P

Lebuh Anson's Dim Sum


If you want reasonable priced dim sum, this is the place to go. Opens from early morning till noon.

Loh Bak


We had it in numerous places and by the third day, we were quite sick of it. hahah.

Old Town Breakfast set


Also just next to the place I was staying. Needed a place to kill time while waiting to meet up with my friend.

And then there's leisure in the room! (100% clean leisure *cough*) It was movies , chips and some drinks.



Next day, we ordered Dominoes! :D



The puff pastry pizza isn't so great. Conventional is ze best!

And lastly, revising with beers.



Kidding, kidding. This didn't happen.

The bed was too comfortable so on both nights, I ended up falling asleep even before the movie ended. :)



Had heaps of fun! I'm now rejuvenated but...I am suffering from post-holiday syndrome. T.T

p/s : I will be based in Penang beginning June 2010. I'm looking for an accomodation so if you have any room to rent, please e-mail me at melanieong@gmail.com. Preferably a place in Sg. Pinang or any where nearby Komtar. Would be great if you have pictures (of the place, not the landlord. Lol) attached. Thanks!

Nyonya Colors - The Gardens Mid Valley

The patronizing of this restaurant was very impromptu. I was famished by the time I reached Mid Valley and Nyonya Colors happened to be right in front of me, so I walked in.



I find the combination of marble tables with the beautifully drawn wooden stool to be very unique. Love the classic flowers on the chairs!



The menu is nothing much to shout about. They offer mainly local affairs - nasi lemak, fried beehoon and the likes. Instead of opting for nasi lemak, I decided to choose something different and went for the Nasi Kunyit with Chicken Curry.



It was my first time eating glutinous rice cooked like this and I thought the turmeric glutinous rice tasted fine. But the chicken curry was too creamy/milky for my liking. It felt like I was eating chicken cooked in curry flavored milk!



My stomach (mind, body and soul if I may add.lol) doesn't go very well with food that are too creamy and milky. I left almost half of it untouched and even so, I still feel quite sick after that.

I am not so much a fan of kuih-s but i thought they looked very inviting at the counter top so I ordered the talam, lapis beras and red bean to try. They all tasted the same - or maybe because my taste bud was already malfunction by then as I was already feeling very giddy from the horrifying bowl of curry.



What makes matters worse was the teh ais I ordered came extremely sweet. I took only few sips and decided it was too sweet for any human consumption and left it.



The restaurant really made me felt like I just paid RM 14.30 to make myself miserable. Lol.

On a happier note, I'm going for a short therapy!


Exactly a year ago, I was here also here (the hotel, not Penang) for the same reason! Good to be back again. Unlike Nyonya Colors, TuneHotels comes highly recommended from me :P

Now, please excuse me ... as I rejuvenate with beers and pizza on the bed! (and breathe in air cond!) <3

Malaysia Airlines In flight Food

This post is also posted in Malaysia Airlines' Blog : Living Malaysian Hospitality

I know there are quite a lot of people out there who are anti-in flight meal. Well, to some extent it is understandable because they are not generally very tasty. But for me, I actually find it quite exciting. Perhaps because it incorporates two things I love - the aviation industry and food.



I've always wondered if Malaysia Airlines recycle (as in reuse) the boxes ? I'm sure it's not cheap so it will be quite wasting to throw away. At the same time, if they really do reuse it's quite disgusting also. :p



Nasi Lemak is definitely one of the most served food on board for Malaysia Airlines. Based on my experiences, any flights before 10 A.M you're sure to have Nasi Lemak. (and usually the other choice is fried bee hoon.)



The rice is a little too soft but taste wise, it is still edible.



With all the hype of being nice to the mother nature, MAS has join in the pact too! In some of their flights, they serve their meals in eco boxes like this.



You know, i've been flying MAS since I was seven years old (I'm 23 now *cough*). And while their food has improved a lot over the years, delicious was never the adjective to describe the food on board - albeit still tasting above average.



However, for once, I actually really thought the "chicken satay with peanut sauce and rice" was really nice. I finished it and almost asked for second servings. Haha. Kidding .. kidding. :P



I love fruit cakes but only home made ones. Commercialized ones tend to be too sweet or too dry. Surprisingly the one MAS was serving was almost on par with home made ones!



It actually takes a lot of courage to be photographing all these pictures on board. The passenger sitting beside me is always giving me weird stares! Heck, there's once this old men thought it was my first time taking the plane and actually taught me how to recline the seats and all. Geez.

I still have a few MAS in flight food review that is coming up! Divided them in two post cause I didn't want this post to be too lengthy.

To all my Christians readers, Hope you all had a blessed Good Friday and a great Easter Monday! :)

My other Malaysia Airlines review :
Malaysia Airlines Golden Lounge
Malaysia Airlines Business Class
Malaysia Airlines In flight Food
Malaysia Airlines : Malaysian Hospitality

How to Cook Chicken Porridge

It's a myth to say that porridge is only for sick people. I love porridge! (but strangely, not when I'm sick) and it's one of the many food I really, really miss when I'm away from home.



Porridge is a dish that takes a lot of time to cook yet the process of cooking it is very easy. All you need is century egg, egg and spring onion.



Since this is a chicken porridge, you'll definitely need chicken on top of the plain porridge that is pre-cooked in rice cooker. The strips of chicken thigh is marinated with sesame oil, mono sodium glutamate and light soy sauce.



It's a lot easier to pre-cook the plain porridge in a rice cooker because you don't actually need to keep an eye on it. Unlike when you cook it in a pot from scratch, you'll have to constantly add water and what not.

Later, move it in a pot (or you can just cook it in the rice cooker) and put the chicken in so that the natural flavors of the chicken will infuse in the plain porridge. Then, let it cook till the consistency you favor.



Once the porridge is almost ready, put in the roughly chopped century egg. Just when you are about to serve the porridge in a bowl, crack the raw egg in it. If you like your egg to cook thoroughly, you can also crack it in the pot and let it cook for a minute or two.



I garnished the porridge with braised peanuts, pork floss, fried anchovies and fried chopped garlic. But if you don't have all these things, just garnish it with spring onion and it taste just as good. :)



Oh yeah, based on my experience, I have also come to a conclusion (proven hypothesis!) that men never enjoy porridge and I never understand why? Hmmm. And that's the question of the day. :D