Thursday, November 29, 2007

Daddy's Birthday Luncheon

Last weekend, despite me being unwell for a few days, went down to KL for Thanksgiving with my family and also, as a surprise returning-prodigal-daughter for my Daddy's be-earlieth birthday celebration that bro and I had planned secretly with Mummy's help.
Bro and Mummy had picked a Chinese restaurant in our Kepong neighborhood; to minimize the suspicion from Daddy as they led him out for lunch that Saturday afternoon.
They selected this Fullwealth restaurant located near the intersection leading to Metro Prima area.
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Why lunch instead of dinner in case you are asking?
Well, as you know very well, the end of the year is a popular time for wedding dinners, etc and therefore, the restaurant was fully booked for most of the weekend nights. The restaurant will be serving a wedding dinner and another birthday celebration that night alone; and they offered us one more table which was available but it will be located in the centre aisle! Haha...bro decided that we are not really in favour of such limelight and after discussion, we went ahead for the luncheon:)
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I arrived about 10am in the morning; travelling from the island to KL. I was not supposed to go home but instead to show up at the restaurant as part of plan:) It was meant to surprise Dad. We met at the restaurant at noon and Daddy was definitely really surprised and pleased (not to mention touched) that his daughter is home *winks*
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We had hot Chinese tea (one of Daddy's common drink whenever he has his meals outside as Daddy never did like sweet drinks with his food)
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It wasn't long before our first dish arrived; the 3 Seasons (recommeded by the restaurant for 4-5 people). (Our course set was customized to the number of people and the menu was extensively recommended and selected by the restaurant upon our agreement)
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I have always liked this dish; at weddings or any restaurant course-set dinners and I must say Fullwealth made this dish relatively simple with a delightful taste.
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From left; that's the unique signature fish cakes with fried lotus. The taste was pleasant and left a fragrant whiff on the taste buds. It should signify the Spring season if I am not mistaken:)
The ones in the middle were the Deep Fried Prawn fritters slattered with salad dressing atop them. Definitely the combination of Autumn and Winter! The prawns were rolled and covered with corn flour before being deep fried to a golden brown colour to give that crisp perfection.
And the last one on the right was the Pan Fried squids in salty and spicy sauce ( a significant symbol of Summer:) The squids were juicy and crunchy; and definitely tasted fresh:)

Next up was the common 2nd dish in most course sets; broiled Shark's Fin with crab meat in soup. They prepared them in small individual bowls; specially prepared for each person. Of course, I was the only one who refused and everyone spooned out generous amounts of crab meat and shrimps on my plate to ensure I am enjoying it along with them since I was the only one who was not in favour of Shark's fin due to cruelty reasons:D
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I must say they were definitely very generous with the crabmeat and shrimps as they were in abundance and in huge chunks although I must say the stock was slightly heavy since I could taste the tinge of saltiness.
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The next dish was my favourite!! Steamed Cod Fish:)
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Initially, we were deciding between Cod Fish and also the fresh flown in Australian Garoupa but the staff were pretty honest as they mentioned that the Australian Garoupa which arrived lately were not that fresh and recommended the Cod Fish instead.
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The Cod fish was steamed at a moderate level; not overcooked but still not to the perfection I had in mind.
*Pardon me as I am a fish lover, I actually am really picky with the way my fish is prepared particularly when they are steamed. I have kinda high expectations of restaurants and so far, the best Steamed God Fish I have tried so far was in only one restaurant:)
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Cod fish is rich in its taste and delicate in texture and it is definitely not an easy task to cook this fish to perfection. Steaming the fish will maintain the smooth and intricate texture but the richness and the natural taste of the fish may not be able to be maintained. (my long philosophy on fish cooking when I don't even know how to cook!:p)
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We had a plate of vegetables served along with the fish as well; this was a plate of Mixed Vegetables consisting of Lotus, broccoli, celery, watercress, carrots, onions, corns and also fried beancurd sheets.
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Notice that the list of the vegetables in this dish had a similar nature; they were all crunchy vegetables. This was another "crunchy" and tasty dish which we enjoyed.
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The last on the list; which was also the most important one of all was the Birthday Noodles or the "Sang Yat Meen" (in Cantonese). Typically, some would even call this the "Sau Meen" which literally means Longevity noodles commonly served for birthday celebrants especially those who are older in age due to its auspicious meaning.
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The interesting part about this noodle is the fact that it is long; really long to symbolize old and long life. It will cooked in this length without any break in the length fraction at any part of the noodle.
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The only thing which spoiled this dish was the fact that the restaurant served us the wrong item and not according to our special request as bro had specified that he wanted Seafood Birthday Noodles but they served us plain noodles with pork and vegetables.
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We mentioned this to the waitress and since it was priced the same (RM15) and we did not return upon serving, we had to let it off at that.

We were served fruits; courtesy of the restaurant for our generosity in selecting them for our meal:)
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The overall meal was not bad and serving was just right; thanks to the honest recommendation of the waitress who took the order. She recommended about 5 course-set for a number of 4-5 people to avoid leftover and also overstuffing ourselves. I find the service good and the staff were friendly; food quality wise was not bad too although there were definitely food additives since we felt thirsty after the meal:p
Total bill was RM288++ which was still reasonable for a course set meal.
This restaurant was located near the Tai Thong restaurant in Kepong; and at the intersection to head to Metro Prima and beckons businesses from tour companies. One of the old restaurants that you may want to consider for any simple family gatherings, dinners, etc.

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

An Indian Wedding Dinner

Last weekend, I travelled with my bunch of colleagues cum friends to another close friend's wedding in Ipoh which was held at a old school hall in town (Methodist/ACS hall I think).
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We arrived there in good time; upon descending from Cameron Highlands after a short day trip for our shopping, etc :)
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The hall was fully air-conditioned and there were about 20+ tables arranged in sight.
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We were greeted by our friend's mother and this little girl seemed really excited as she kept smiling at us all the way:)
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The wedding cake set up on the stage
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Decorations onstage
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We couldn't resist taking pics with this adorable little girl who seemed beckoning to us at the entrance:D
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We were one of the early ones and we were busy chattering among ourselves at our table. We noticed that the caterers started serving or rather, placing plates of food on each table; regardless of whether the table is occupied or vacant.
The first one was their local favorite bites; the Murukku.
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We were not really sure whether we were really supposed to start; but 2 of our friends were kinda starving and they started in on the food before we came to a decision.

The next dish was more of an appetizer; it was some preserved fruits or the Asam jeruk stuffs with sauce.
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The third one served were eggs
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By then, one of our friends related her experience that we should not zone into these dishes anymore as these will go along with the rice which will be served last in an Indian wedding (similar to the one she attended where she was served with rice on a banana leaf).

The next dish which came up was this plate of red sausages
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Fried Chicken
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Mixed Vegetables
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The only thing I could actually eat:p

Rendang Mutton
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Curry Dhal ( I think)
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And the last; Fried Tomato rice
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The guests are starting to fill up the hall; anxiously anticipating the arrival of the hosts (newly weds)
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The bride and groom arrived; making their way to the stage
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After the welcoming speech by the MC, the newly weds lighted 2 candles which symbolize the light of happiness for their marriage.
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Shortly after, they were seated on the chairs on the stage while there were ongoing performances and speeches made by their family members and relatives.
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Cake cutting ceremony
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The elders (mothers, fathers, in-laws) would take turn to feed a small piece of the cake to the newly weds before the couple feeds each other.
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The guests will be busy satiating their own appetites while this is going on; and some of the guests even started leaving after they are done eating (oblivious to whether the ceremony has ended). That was a rather surprising change from our Chinese wedding dinners where the guests will feel compelled to stay until the end of the dinner.

The bride and groom basically only seats themselves at the host table after all the ceremonies were completed at the stage.
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One blunder I found about the MC was what she said which struck me, " Let's wish happiness for this newly wed couple as they are married today. Let's keep our fingers crossed"

"Keep our fingers crossed???"
What kind of a blessing was that? (pardon me, I am rather particular with the usage of words in any context:p)

Anyway, we do pray for the blessed union of our dear friend and we definitely want it to be that way for ever:)
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