Caring Is Not Only Sharing...

ONE DAY TRIP... To Penang and on the way back to Ipoh, we stopped by in Taiping to have our late lunch.  My friend recommended us to go to Yes Restaurant, Jalan Regat, Taiping and using Waze, we managed to find the place in no time.  On the way we made a call to the restaurant to confirm whether they still served lunch cos it was around 2.30pm when we reached Taiping.  And Yes, they do open until 9pm at night.... and these were the dishes we ordered at Yes Restaurant on that day...  Highly recommended by my friend was this claypot fish cooked with yam....  My opinion? I like the fish... they were very fresh....  However, the gravy would be taste better if there is less black pepper... The black pepper is a bit too strong for me....  Their own signature beancurd....  Goes well with white rice...  Sambal Kangkung...  Caught this unexpectedly....  Three dishes for the four of us....  And we were taken by surprise by the bill... It came to only RM44 in total....  Very reasonable, we agree.

LANDSCAPING AND CAFE.... 2 IN 1...  Before MCO, my friends and I went Asow Eatery Station, Jalan Tambun.  I had not heard of this place until a friend from Klang told me about it.  I, being a local, did not know or heard about this place though outstation people have been talking much about it.  My outstation friends asked me about this place during Chinese New Year and I answered, "Got meh?" And after CNY, we went to "explore" out this place in Tambun.  Asow is the name, I was quite impressed by the decoration, mostly greens... after all, it is about landscaping, nursery and cafe...  At the entrance, do not pull or push, just slide the door open....  First question upon entrance... "Any reservation?" Since we were the early birds, they had a table for us....  The ambience is quite nice....  Greens everywhere... Slowly, the people dwindled in....  While waiting for the food, we walked outside the nursery....  Potted flowers too...  More greens were seen...

LET'S TRY IT OUT...   We could not get enough of the Tomyam soup we ordered at the Blue Chang Thai Cuisine in Penang.  That evening itself, I told my kids, "let's try cooking the tomyam when we reached home."  We wanted the clear soup type, minus the tomyam paste from the bottle.   I stick to my words, the next day in Ipoh, I went to the market to get the ingredients.  I bought lemongrass, galangal (lengkuas), big onions, cilipadi, 3 limes, spring onion and that was it.... so easy... LOL...  For the soup base, there is chicken meat, prawns and lastly, I put in meat dumplings aka Goazi.  Since there is only three of us, I put in 3 bowls of water and dump all the ingredients in except for the prawns and dumplings.  Cook the soup for nearly an hour then only I add in the lime juice to suit our taste buds.  The soup ended up sourish and spicy as well, I am surprised that our homecooked tomyam is a success!!  Each of us had a bowl of Misua Tomyam! Nothing more or less.... 

PORRIDGE DAY.... my foodie friend put up this shop selling porridge in his FB account a couple of times last year and I only went to check out this shop after the Movement Control Order was lifted.  Ever since June, I have been to this shop three times.  I am from the clan "Teochew" ... popularly known for eating porridge daily.  We were "taught" from our toddler years to take porridge and I do not mind taking every now and then.   Nowadays porridge are more expensive than the "mixed rice" unlike those days, porridge was normally for the poorer and lower income people.  Coming back to my post, this corner shop is called Kar Heng, located along Jalan Chamberlain.  A couple manned this stall and they are very friendly....  Each of us ordered a bowl each... 3 types of eggs combination... RM4.50 Fried Fish RM7 This steamed type too was RM7... Andy wanted a plate of chee cheong fun to share among 3 of us.... RM4.20 Our lunch... full to the brim....  We have to

HOMEBOUND FOOD... dinner meal with 2 dishes and a soup were cooked on the day we arrived back from Penang.   Opened the fridge and managed to create the below dishes for dinner... nothing spectacular, the usual norm from their childhood days.  I have yet to create new dishes, I guess I never will.... LOL... My dishes I know are normally "hand-me-down recipes" from my mother's time and no matter what and how I do, I could never cook the same taste as what my mom did.  Now thinking back, I should have stand beside my mom when she was doing the cooking last time....  Potato Chicken, as my son used to say...  This dish always remind him of his younger days.... Bitter gourd omelette... Old melon soup...  Dinner is served on the coffee table these days....  As long as all feels comfortable, no strict rules in the house...  LOL.. 

THE NIGHT IS STILL YOUNG... and we went for our second dinner at Rising Ramen Tori, located inside the new Moulmein Rise Shoppes, Pulau Tikus.  There was a short queue, we were the fourth in line and since we were not that hungry, we decided to wait for our table.  In less than 20 minutes, we were ushered into the small humble place which I was told that their ramen was the closest to the ramen in Japan.  Well, that was what the youngsters said and I just quoted...  LOL...  As according to the SOP, we have to sit diagonally to each other....  No problem, as long as we can still talk and listen within the range...  As appetizers... Edamame still warm and sprinkled with salt....  Gaozi to share....  We ordered two bowls of the famous ramen... RM22 Am I a fan? Not really but I couldn't say the same for the young... They love these so much!

SWEATING OUT TIME....  After our plate of char koay teow, we drove up to the dam.  Purpose is to shed off the calories so that we could have another meal before the night is up.  LOL....  Another reason is that my son had not been there before.   Before we started, he asked how long we need to walk one whole round, I estimated around 45 minutes.  Though it was a sunny day, once we started our walk, the sun was no more to be seen.  Trees from both sides shaded us from the heat and it turned out to be a cooling walk.  No sweat until we were out in the open again at certain parts....  Here are some of the shots I took when we reached the dam... the ending point....  The view from the dam....  Komtar and some parts of Penang town is seen.....  After our walk, we drove to town for our second dinner....  LOL... 

WHEN EVENING COMES....  It was around 5pm when we made a stop at Ayer Itam for the original Ah Leng Char Koay Teow.  In Mandarin it was pronounced as Ah Loong meaning dragon but when translated, it becomes Ah Leng which has the same spelling with my name.  LOL.... That is why I thought all along, this famous koay teow is manned by a lady.  But no, it is actually from a man who is now over 80 years old, he opens his stall at the side of his house in Ayer Itam whereas his son has a stall along Jalan Kramat.   Since the father's stall opens in the evening, it is just nice for us to drop by and stuffed ourselves before going for our walk at the dam which is nearby.  We were the first customers and we could choose our seating.... both inside and outside the house is equally hot, we compared the hot air and finally opted for the outside air instead of being under the aluminium roofing.   At the side of the house facing the road....  Food knows no bounds.. hot weather did not deter us fro