Chefmel turns 22 today!

Today is my birthday. :)



I got myself a book as a birthday gift to myself. Richard Branson's : Losing My virginity. Such a quirky title right? Hehe.

I am also quite broke , so if you're feeling guilty not buying me any birthday present, or if you're feeling rich today, please kindly donate to :

Melanie Ong Ai Wui
CIMB 1102-0002278-20-6

Thank You in advance :)

Malaysia Airlines : Malaysian Hospitality

If there is one "Malaysian Product" that I really believe in, it's Malaysia Airlines (MAS). Despite the steeper price, I've always been willing to pay a couple of extra bucks for MAS because of one sole reason - they always made me feel like a "guest".



Just less than a week ago, I find myself in two MAS cabin again, flying back home. The first one was of course no stranger to me, the quad-colored seats.



The second one though kinda caught me by surprise. Leather seats! I actually thought I was on the wrong flight and to be honest with you, I find it degraded the image of MAS. The blue color leather seats reminded me so much of a public bus I took a while ago! And if I didn't told you it was MAS, you would have thought it was Air Asia right?



However, the main reason of me writing this is not to criticize on how ugly their leather seats are but instead, on the cleanliness of the cabin.



Food stains, splashes of water and some unidentified dirt.



The food served were great (really, but it'll be in another post) but when I was served I actually didn't felt like eating when I saw the stains and all. I only ate because I was seating behind two kids who were on top of their lungs the whole flight and I couldn't sleep.



Hygiene is crucial and it disappoint me how MAS (who just won two Skytrax award) could overlook it. Of course I don't expect the whole cabin to be all shiny, but this is a little too much especially for a "5 star airline" who preach so much about their "world class cabin".



Sorry, but this is certainly not the way I view Malaysian Hospitality. :(

Scallop Marinara Spaghetti

The numero uno ingredient is of course non other than spaghetti. Try getting Spanish pasta instead of the generic brands like San Remo. Spanish pastas are better in texture.



I used scallop for my marinara but you can use any seafood of your choice. Prawn, mussels and squids would be great for marinara.



The flavorings came from one clove of garlic, ring olives, butter and tomato paste.

First, saute the garlic and olives in the piping hot melted butter. Garlic, olives and butter is like a triangle love. They blend so well and the aroma can be quite therapeutic! :p Because scallops take longer amount of time to cook, put it in before the spaghetti. However if you are using other seafood, put the spaghetti in first.

Once the scallops is sealed, put in the spaghetti, then add in the tomato paste and seasonings - salt and black pepper. When everything is well blended, let the scallops cook under it so that the natural flavors from the scallops would infuse to the spaghetti.



Let them cook a while , and here you go, voila!



Easy ain't it? It takes no more than 20 minutes to prepare this dish. :)

p/s : I am back in Kuching again! :D

Penang White Coffee

It's a shame to call myself a coffee aficionado when I don't know one of the best coffee in Malaysia is available in Penang - even after visiting the place so many times. I was introduced to the Penang White Coffee by my parents (who only visited the place once. FML) and they asked me to get it for them.



There's many brands in Penang and because my parents don't know which brand was the best, I bought a few to try. The rest of the brands fail miserably in comparison to this particular brand "Salute" and a quick check with a local confirmed that this was the pioneer.



A box is retailing at RM 12, and there is 12 40g sachets. Each sachet is at 20 g heavier than the Nescafe 3 in 1 ones so it's a bargain for the price.



I excitedly tried it since my parents have very colonial mind set and if they say a Malaysian made product is good, they must be good! Verdict : I am impressed! While it may not be the kind of coffee I favor (i like dark roasted beans), it was really smooth and it has this thick foam on top which i like! If you like latte, this is the one coffee for you.


P/s : Just got back from Kuching a few days ago. Now having my finals! Very busy and hardly could breathe! Sorry for the lack of updates and thank you for reading!

How to make Chinese Sandwich

For those who followed my twitter, you would know that I am currently in Kuching for a short break. I wanted to blog about it the night before I fly back, but I had some meetings and last minute stuffs to attend.

It isn't exactly a holiday for me, as I am still rushing my assignment up till today and finals is just a week away!! It scares me just to think of the amount of book i need to read for the coming next three weeks! :(

Let's get our mind off to some happy stuff shall we? I made myself a nice sandwich for breakfast! This is very much inspired by Huai Bin's Korean Sandwich :p

Got my mum to bake me a loaf of whole meal bread. Nothing like a good home made bread!



Sunny side up and luncheon meat.



Thinly shredded cabbage and cheese. Man, I've been having cheese cravings for yonks!



Tower them up and this is what you get. The egg yolks overflowing, damn classic!



MMmmm!

Krispy Kreme

After reading so much about Krispy Kreme on the Internet I swear to the moon, stars and sun that I must have a bite one day! So when the news of Berjaya bringing Krispy Kreme to Malaysia broke out, needless to say I was exhilarated.

I was a little dissapointed when they decided to open it in Times Square as it's a little time consuming for me to travel there from the airport (and then back to the airport again). I guess they heard me , and just few months later they open one in Midvalley! Halleluiah!



I have a little confession though. As excited as I was, the first time I was there I actually walk through it and told my sister I couldn't find it? Well, i was expecting long queues but it turns out the shop was rather empty.



The donuts choices weren't as extensive as Jco and Big Apples but at the same time, what ever they have(other than the original glazed) in Krispy Kreme are not available in both Jco and Big Apples.



It's a lot cheaper to get two dozens but since I am the only one eating and I am not blessed with a good metabolism rate to burn all the donuts later, I decided to just get a dozen. :p



Texture wise, Krispy Kreme's dough is fluffier and in a way, heavier. What I really like about Krispy Kreme's donuts is the ones that comes with toppings are not "wet" and even if you leave it for two days, it still stays fresh and "in shape". It's a total different case with Jco and Big Apples. Leave it for a few hours ,the donut will flattens and you just don't feel like eating it anymore.



The New York Cheesecake is the best amongst all the flavors. The creme filling was just so, so, so, so good. If I were to die tomorrow, i will have this as my last wish. And after that I will die happily and have no regrets. :D



Second to that is the Glazed Vanilla Cake. The thick glazed crust that coat the outer layer melts in your mouth and is a sure way to give a good sugar rush. Mmmm. Nom. Nom. Nom. Nom.



If you're a fan of Hershey's cookies and cream then this will be for you. I thought it was nothing spectacular though I have to give them credit on the generous amount of toppings.



Oh, did I say I bought an extra seat in Air Asia just to put my boxes of Krispy Kreme?



This is Krispy Kreme checking in, in LCCT- KLIA.



This is Krispy Kreme on the plane, with seat belt on. :)

-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-

p/s : Just kidding about the extra seats :P

How to make cheese and bacon fritata

For those who doesn't know what fritata is, it is actually the Italian version of omelet. The only difference with the conventional French omelet is that this one is baked.

You will need grated cheddar cheese, cubed sausages, ring olives and pre fried bacon. Fritata in general had tomatoes too but I skimmed that out because I don't like tomatoes. :P



Whisk the above ingredients with two eggs and add in salt, white and black pepper and a small knob of butter. Just before you put it in the oven, top it with more cheddar cheese.



Have your round baking pan wrapped with aluminum foil so that it doesn't sticks on it.



Bake in the oven for about 15 minutes (or till cook) and viola!



I had this for my brunch so I also made ham sandwich and fried hash browns to go with it.



It doesn't take a genious to prepare ham sandwich - basically ham, wholemeal bread, lettuce and mayonaise. While for the hash brown, I just had it fried. :P



Big brunch platter with orange juice. :)

Mid Autumn Festival

It's full moon tonight. They say if you wanna have baby boy, you can try your luck tonight. ;P



Zhongqiu Jie Kuai Le. :)

A & W Gurney Plaza

Out of the many restaurants in Gurney, I don't know what crossed my mind when I decided to have A & W instead.



It was the first day of Ed Mubarak and instead of being greeted with joyous Raya spirit, we were treated by a cashier with a grumpy moody look. What's even more was the manager was also very grumpy looking. Fine I thought. Just give me my food!



I wanted something different so I ordered the Double Mozza Burger. It was nothing special, double beef patties with cheese and a piece of an extremely dry beef bacon. The bacon was so dry it almost felt like they have left it under the hot sun to dry it up!



My friend went for the safer option. The coney dog. Doesn't look so impressive too eh? What's with the minimal amount of toppings?



It is cheaper to order in set but we did in ala carte for one sole reason - the curly fries. The set came with the shoe string fries and we wanted the curly fries and are willing to pay more for it. But what we got was soggy and extremely oily curly fries! geez!



Ok, all the food were disastrously disappointing, the root beer can't go wrong right? But it did! :( It was so diluted that it was almost tasteless. Sigh!



A & W , LOUSIER than the usual!

Sarawak Laksa and Kek Lapis

I went back to Kuching last month , and within less than a month I flew back once again for the Raya holidays! Tickets were so expensive but I am rich, who cares? Ok fine, I cheated. :( I am staying over at my friend's place in Penang for the Raya break! I've been here since Friday noon, and will be back to my hostel tomorrow.



Cooking Sarawak Laksa was part of the intinerary but we only manage to cook it on Monday since the rest of the days were spend with us going to work out in... the shopping mall! ;p

No photos of the cooking process tho' because I wasn't confident if it will turn out to be the way it should be or otherwise.;p



Thankfully, the final product was good and almost similar to the one they sell in the shops. Of course, it wasn't the best Sarawak Laksa I've eaten but considering this is my first time cooking Sarawak Laksa, I think I did quite a fantastic job!


It would have been perfect if we have corriander leaves :P

And what's more, we even have Kek Lapis! Flown all the way from Kuching. Ahh!



Anyway, Selamat Hari Raya! Hope you guys had a great long weekend. :)