Taiwanese delights and toast box (coffin toast?)

This was an outdated post, and I just found the photos from my folders while 'cleaning up' the HDD the other day.

The quality of the photos are not as usual, as I remember that I did not bring my camera for lunch that day (something totally out of the norm), and so, I had to use my phone to capture the food.

I've blogged about this Little Taiwan restaurant run by Malaysian in the 1 Utama Shopping Centre in my previous posts :-)

Set lunch rice set with vegetables


Mini Spicy tomyam seafood steamboat with noodles


SUPER Spicy!

Claypot silver needle noodles (remember the rat-tail noodles post?:)


Taiwanese crispy chicken with claypot hor fun (flat rice noodles)


I love their Aiyu Lemon Jelly; a must have each time I am there :)


Now notice the title of my post which had a rather unusual yet scary title including a 'coffin'?
Well, that is no typo error, as the following is the highlight of this meal; which is the Treasure Toast Box

They made a thick and huge bread toasted and then stuffed with meat, seafood and vegetables.

I was told that in Taiwan or Hong Kong, this is also translated literally from Chinese to mean 'Coffin Toast Box' and is a huge hit among the locals.

I am not sure whether this is the exact version, and I am really bummed that I was without my 'best buddy' (Camera) at that time!:(

I don't think I need to explain the origin of the name of this toast; I leave it to your imagination!;)

Dim Sum Breakfast with the family

If you have been following my blog for a while, you would know how much I love having dim sum for my breakfast, so when my family told me that they found a new dim sum restaurant, I was more than obliging to go there for breakfast!:)

Koo Hiong restaurant is located near the morning market in Bandar Sg Long, and it is a relatively new place for dim sum in the area.
I liked the prompt and friendly service provided by the owner and his workers.
Nothing was too much trouble for them; if the dim sum is not hot, tell them and they will just reheat it for you. If you need more hot water for your tea, tell them and they will get down to it.
This, is what I call service!:)

Now onto the selection of dim sum for my weekend breakfast:

Pork and prawn dumpling, with green peas


Minced pork dumpling topped with sago pearls rolled with seaweed


Fish paste with century egg and celery rolled with seaweed


Pork dumpling rolled with cabbage leaves


Prawn dumplings (Har Kao)

This has got to be the best version I have ever had; the crystal skin was just nice and the prawns were in generous portions and sizes that it was just so crunchy and juicy.
(I am craving for this now!)

Pork and shrimp dumpling (a nice version of Siew Mai)



Braised spare ribs; one of the family's favorites


Steamed fishballs; this is my must have all the time :-)


Bittergourd with fish paste with Tau Chu sauce (fermented beancurd)


Another version of pork dumpling topped with prawn and green pea


Thin fish paste rolled with foo chook (dried beancurd sheets)


Most of the dim sum here are priced from MYR2.80 onwards; and maybe some lower and with a great service as mentioned, that makes it good reason enough to be back.

What's better than dim sum on weekends? It's like one of the most staple meal option for my weekend breakfasts!:)

What do you usually have for your weekend breakfast? ;)

Aiyu Lemon from Tea Secret

A fortnight ago, I was at the shopping mall and as I passed this small drinks counter bar; Tea Secret, I saw a long queue leading towards the bar.
I was fascinated by the queue, but as I had other agenda on my mind, I just let it slide.

When I was leaving the mall, the line seemed to have doubled and again, I ignored it as I was just rushing to go home.

Anyway, the next day was a Saturday, and I dropped by the same mall with my hubby to get some stuffs and I was telling him about the drinks counter which I pointed out to him.
There were flowers surrounding the counter this round, and each of it had a card congratulating the grand opening of the drinks counter.

Hubby decided that he must try a drink from this new counter; and so, we bought my favorite Aiyu Jelly with Lemon drink.

This is the Large-sized drink; MYR6.90

It was a little too sweet, despite the supposedly sour taste of lemon.

Oh ya, and I found out the real reason behind the long queue; it was their grand opening the day before, and all drinks were going at MYR1.00 each!!!
Darn, now I know why everyone is waiting so patiently in line.

That's what my mum used to tell me, if there's a queue in any restaurant or anywhere in Penang, it's either something good, or cheap.
I just missed out on the latter, maybe I should learn to just join in the queue? :-P

Picnic on the Beach

I have never really had an actual picnic before; maybe it's because of the hot and humid weather we have here, or the discomfort of having my meals on the floor, I don't really know, although I have always thought of it as fun.
Guess I've just never really gotten around to doing it :P

Anyway, last month while I was on the prequel of my honeymoon (we are doing a short vacation first followed by another one somewhere else), we had a picnic lunch arranged for us!
You can read all about my honeymoon in my travel blog.

I have posted about the lovely afternoon we spent and the picnic we had here
In the post, the photos were of the beach and there was just an overview of the picnic.

Well, that's what this blog is for; the photos of the FOOD :)

I am going to share the photos of my picnic lunch here; which I tell you, was quite a feast, for only two people.


The thoughtful staff at the resort packed the food which I have selected from a checklist the day of my arrival, into plastic tupperwares and then put them into an actual basket!
(Ooooh, I am shouting with glee when I saw the basket!)


After setting the table and laying the food, the server even poured our drink (Honey Lemongrass drink)



Sandwiches


Choice 1: Pita bread with fresh seafood



Choice 2: Smoked salmon with ciabatta

The salmon was just so tender and well-smoked, and is one of the best I have tasted so far;)

Stir-fried capsicums and bell peppers

Can't believe how this simple dish tastes so delicious!

Thai Fish Cakes, these are goood!:D


Cream crackers, cheese, walnuts, dried apricots


Freshly cut fruits; I picked packham pears and strawberries, my favorites!


and a selection of tropical fruits (pineapple, mango, watermelon)


Mixed Berries Jelly - the most awesome one that I have ever had in my life!:)


Nacho chips for keeps!


There were just so much food, that we could not possibly finish everything on the spot.

Thankfully, there are the plastic tupper wares which we can just bring back to our room to snack on.

With all my praises for almost everything, do you still need to ask whether the food was good?
I don't think I need to be skeptical about picnic anymore, if the food were this good, and oh, the surrounding environment on this beautiful beach just makes me miss the place so much.
(I am already singing the vacation song as I am writing this post!)

Celebrating Our 1st month with a Cake!

Yesterday marks the first month of our marriage; and we wanted to do something special for ourselves (we are postponing our celebration dinner to the weekend :).
Hence, we drove out, spent some time with each other and got ourselves a cake!
(In case you thought I baked the cake, well, no, I did not, I BOUGHT the cake :)

Hubby knew how much I loved blueberries, or anything to do with berries, and he bought us the Blueberry Sponge cake


The cake was like an ordinary cake; really, with white icing adorned with red dipped cherries on top and a puddle of blueberry puree in the middle, and chocolate chips on the side.



Little did we know when we bought the sponge cake that it would be chocolate flavored sponge!


The cake was layered with the icing and in between the layers there were blueberries as well.


For those of you who have heard about my wedding cake story, you would have known that I have had chocolate cake for a while and it's really ironic because I am never a fan of chocolates (yes, weird me), and now, it seemed like I am getting another piece of chocolate cake again!:)

LOL, guess the chocolate cake will now forever have a relationship with me, to remind me of my own wedding? It is probably adamant to stay and telling me so!:-)

Oh, the cake was soft and really fresh and the blueberries were just so enticing :D

Hard Rock Monthlyversary Lunch

We have so many dates to celebrate now, after our wedding...hehe, from our first date, to our proposal, then our ROM and wedding, we are just a celebration couple, and I am NOT complaining.


Hubby planned our Sunday lunch at Hard Rock Cafe, which is located in the first ever Hard Rock Hotel in Penang.

The cafe, though, is not the first as the first outlet opened in the city of KL long ago.


The sun was blazing out there, and it was a nice welcome stepping into the dimly lit and cool environment of the cafe restaurant.





Most of the crowd, as we have noticed, are the guests staying at the hotel.

We started with our choices of cold drinks; an escape from the heat out there.

Iced Lemonade (MYR9.00)

This is a very sour and at the same time, fizzy drink as I think they mixed it with soda but it was a refreshing drink for lemonade lovers like me :-)

Iced Lemon Tea (MYR9.00)


Snapshots of the cafe environment, and their interior design


The cafe was adorned with the legendary and iconic designs of Hard Rock Cafe worldwide; with the musical instruments and pop icons dating back to the 70's.

Our Appetizer; Santa Fe Spring Rolls (MYR17.00)

Served in a little glass, this packs a whole lot of goodies to make it so tasty and at the same time, boosting with energy.

This is stuffed with spinach, black beans, cilantro, corn, jalapenos, diced Red peppers and Jack cheese. It is served with freshly made Hard Rock salsa, Guacamole, Chipotle Ranch dressing.


Love the mix of spinach, and all the tasty ingredients that make this irresistible and one roll is simply not enough! (I am still thinking of the unique taste of the rolls as I am writing this)


After we finished our appetizers, we waited for quite a while for our plates to cleared and the wait for our mains took even longer!
With all the time in my hand, I started, you guessed right, snapping photos of the environment again!
The changing colors of the iconic logo





Iconic suits on display


Our mains, finally arrived after a really long wait, no kidding.

Hickory-smoked Pulled-Lamb Sandwich (MYR28.00)


This is tender and juicy due to the fact that it's hand pulled and Hickory-smoked as it was described in the menu.
It is served with either one of the two choices; authentic vinegar-based or Hickory BBQ sauces and topped with marinated slaw. There is also a side serving of seasoned fries, ranch beans and fresh coleslaw.



Fish and Chips (MYR25.00)


Fillet of fish dipped in special batter and deep fried to golden brown and served with fries.



Honestly, this reminded me of the deep fried Chinese crullers, or also known as 'Yau Char Kwai' as there was just so much batter in this rather than the fish fillet.
In fact, it tastes more of the thick flour batter that my mouth was filled with the taste of the flour rather than the fish fillet.
Not my type of Fish and Chips, I must say (sadly!)

We were just a little stuffed from the large portions of the meal, and had no room for desserts at all.

I find the food here is just average; and I don't really find it to be anything to shout about despite the ambience.
The service was really slow, and I kinda felt that they only paid more attention to the hotel guests who dined there rather than other customers which is quite peculiar as Hard Rock Cafe around the world welcomes dine-in guests anytime; regardless of whether you stayed in their hotel or not, or so, I thought.
Perhaps it is the fact that this cafe comes with the hotel, compared to most of its counterparts around the world?


Maybe I should try their cafe counterpart in KL as well? Do you think?