PENANG Island, a Full Circle! (Part 2)

"Please, sir, I want some more!" - Oliver Twist

Yes! Food, glorious Penang food, is what thousands of tourists and homesick Penangites oceans and clouds away; coming back for more!!

They own one of the Hokkien Prawn Mee stall in Penang, you got to eat their noodles to savour the "hot", sweetness and oomph to realise why patience customers sat in the humid afternoon heat up to 30 minutes, waiting for their order! We did!

Never underestimate "hawker" who serves Penang goodies, most likely he make more money in a month than you in a year!

Penangites claimed to know hawkers who own half a dozens of "hi-end" properties on the island!  And looking at the customers at some of the stalls, I believe the gossip ;)

In Singapore, What The Duck!!

No, that is NOT a typo; if you read on, What The Duck is correct ;)

On our recent break in Malaysia, we decided to spend three nights in Singapore; before we head home to Wellington.

The last time we were in this island nation was 6 years ago! Goodness, the Little Red Dot has changed; a lot, from what we remembered!

The most eye catching building is the Marina Bay Sands which jut out like a sore thumb, in my view; not a very attractive structure ;)

However, two days later; we were taken up to the KU DÉ TA restaurant up at Marina Bay Sands Sky Park, and the panoramic view really impressed me!

Ezy Sop Kambing (Easy Mutton Soup)

Sop Kambing (Goat Soup in Malay) is one of Malaysian, Indian and Indonesian cuisine's best-known dishes.

All of us love Sop Kambing but so far we have not discover any restaurant  in Wellington serving this yummy Malaysian fare :(

So I devised a fast and simple but yummy version myself!

Pho In The City

Pho (/fʌ/; Vietnamese: phở pronounced [fəː˧˩˧] ( listen)) is a Vietnamese dish consisting of broth, noodles made from rice, a few herbs, and meat. It is a popular street dish, and the specialty of several restaurant chains.

The two main varieties are chicken pho and beef pho.  The word "pho" may be derived from French pot-au-feu (beef stew).   - Wikipedia

I love beef pho! The strength and beauty of a tasty pho is in the soup and believe you me, it is hard to find a Vietnamese cafe in Wellington that serves good pho!

Mr Ji's Hidden Delights In Petone!

A couple of months ago I discovered this little Chinese restaurant in Petone, it was recommended by Michelle Zhang who is a part-timer at our office; we are glad we took her recommendation seriously!  Thank-you Michelle :)

Petone (Māori: Pito-one) is a major suburb of the city of Lower Hutt in New Zealand. It is located at the southern end of the narrow triangular plain of the Hutt River, on the northern shore of Wellington Harbour. The name, from the Māori Pito-one, means "end of the sand beach".  - Wikipedia

Mr Ji's Kitchen like all restaurants and cafes in Petone is situated along Jackson Street.

So on one Saturday afternoon late last year, Le General and I set off to taste-test this new found shop for lunch.

It took us two drive up and down Jackson Street to locate this "Kitchen", it is right up (if you are coming from town) the other end of Jackson, the shop front is not conspicuous; in some way situated at 285 Jackson have some advantage for diners, in the week-end the lower end of Jackson Street is painful to get a parking space!

A Simple But Yummy Mee Goreng!

Mee goreng (Indonesian: mie goreng or mi goreng; Malay: mee goreng or mi goreng; both meaning "fried noodles") also known as bami goreng is a dish common in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore. It is made with thin yellow noodles fried in cooking oil with garlic, onion or shallots, fried prawn, chicken, or beef, sliced bakso (meatballs), chili, Chinese cabbage, cabbages, tomatoes, egg, and acar (pickles).

Ubiquitous in Indonesia, it can be found everywhere in the country, sold by all food vendors from street-hawkers to high-end restaurants. It is an Indonesian one-dish meal favorite, although street food hawkers commonly sell it together with nasi goreng (fried rice). It is commonly available at mamak stalls in Singapore and Malaysia and is often spicy.    - Wikipedia

I like to cook mee goreng, it is fast and good; perfect for old working couple like me and Le General ;)

Below are step by step to my fast simple Mee Goreng Ala C.Y.   :)

The Best Bak Kut Teh 肉骨茶 in Wellington!

I love Bak Kut Teh! Every time I think of it, my mouth starts to water!!

My Kiwi friends think I am loco over Bak Kut Teh, they want to know what is and why is this herbal; soupy dish so addictive ;)

According to Wikipedia...
"Bak-kut-teh (also spell bah-kut-teh; Chinese: 肉骨茶; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: bah-kut-tê) is a Chinese soup popularly served in Malaysia, Singapore, Mainland China and Taiwan (where there is a predominant Hoklo and Teochew community) and also, neighbouring areas like Riau Islands and Southern Thailand."

Vietnamese Restaurant & Cafe @ Petone

Often on Sunday night I get lazy to cook dinner ;)

After all, there are only three of us (younger daughter come for dinner every Sunday night).  When I get lazy, it is also a good excuse to try out the latest restaurant in / around Wellington!

During the last two years, Jackson Street in Petone have become very popular for restaurants and cafes; there are a few eateries there that we adored!  So three weeks ago while driving through Jackson Street we noticed this NEW Vietnamese R&C, I mean; look at the brightly coloured shop front, it is hard to miss!  We promised ourselves we will have to taste test their offering.

A Very Hot Wellington Christmas!

Once a year, Christmas is the time we catch up with close friends and traditionally we always try to roast a turkey :)

There was one year I even broke my own record by roasting TWO birds!

This year due to different circumstances, I decided not to spend hours preparing the bird. But... but... what is Xmas without turkey? Hee hee... My Plan 2...

You Can Have Your Cake Lapis And Eat It Too!

If you read my 2009 posting of "Nyonya Food At Its Best, In Auckland?!", you would know Charles and Janet. Charles and me go back a long way, he was the News Editor and I the Picture Editor of The Star in Penang, way back in the 1970s! We were the pioneers. We covered some serious news jobs together :)

Charles and Janet were the owner of the Sri Intan Malaysian & Vietnamese Cuisine in Mt Albert, Auckland.

Remembering Wakefield Market In Wellington

Migrants from Malaysia and Singapore are more "tum chiak" (greedy for food in Penang Hokkien) than migrants from other countries ;)

We belongs to that tum chiak group! We came from a small island (Penang) synonymous with good food. Penang is well known for its abundance of authentic hawkers’ delights which the locals claim, cannot be duplicated elsewhere!

 Shortly after we arrived in Wellington, 1988; we found to our horror; there were no hawkers fair in this "Coolest Little Capital" of New Zealand!

All you can get is "take away" of adulterated "Chinese food" to suit local taste!

We were ecstatic when our friends took us to the only "hawkers centre" at 181, Wakefield Street!  The "centre", a small space on top of an office block has only four food stalls; beggars no choosers, we were happy!

Hawkers centre or Asian Food Court come and go in Wellington, the last one was situated at Wakefield Market. We loved this old, run down venue!

From the outside the market looks old and really run down. There was only a small sign on the wall, indicating  that they sell food in there. But once you enter the place, you can smell food, glorious food!

Authentic Penang Food @ Little Penang!

If you are born in Penang like me and marooned (I mean immigrated) to a foreign land, the first thing you will be yearning for will be some semblance of Penang food to remind you of home.

Penang has one of the most diverse food fare in Malaysia and, the food is so mixed with influences from the Indian, Malay, Chinese and Thai cuisine that it becomes unique to the island itself.

When friends informed us last week that there is a new shop in town that serves Penang food, we know we must check it out!

Turn out that Little Penang is like a takeaway but there are two small bench tables to have your food.

Initially we were not impressed but after we tried their nasi lemak , WE WERE SOLD!!

Talking to the friendly proprietors, Keith and Tee; who are Penangites like us; I offered to "review" their Penang cuisines and that bring us to today when we are invited back to test our hungry Penang taste buds :)

A Family Affair... From right, Tee and Keith; Ee (Tee's sister) and Mary (Tee's sister-in-law).

Lok Lok Is Here In Wellington!

Every Malaysian would know what Lok Lok is! To the rest of the world what exactly is LOK LOK?

According to Rasa Malaysia...

Lok Lok is like a steamboat / hotpot / shabu shabu with a wide range of fresh foods such as meat, seafood, fish balls, vegetables, quail eggs, etc. placed on little skewers and laid out upon a round table with a pot of boiling water as the centerpiece.

Xmas Turkey, Wellington...

Once a year, Christmas is the time we catch up with close friends and traditionally we always try to roast a turkey :)

Through the years, we discovered if we buy our fresh turkey AFTER Xmas day; we can get a real bargain! The best time would be on the 27th of December.

This year however, since we are having a get together on Boxing Day with Boon & Jackie who came back from Brisbane; we went turkey hunting (no weapons needed, duh!) in the morning.

We found plenty of fresh birds at City New World. The price tags tell us the 6kg bird was $125.00 before Xmas and now, on Boxing Day; $68.00!!

We bought two, one for our gathering on the same night and the other for a dinner the next night.

Tea For Two

Our eldest daughter May-N took us to Vancouver Island when we were visiting her in Vancouver, on this spectacular and beautiful island we were introduced to the classical English High Tea.

Actually High Tea is a misnomer, most people refer to afternoon tea as high tea because it sounds more regal! High tea to the English is actually dinner. Do visits the link on English High Tea, it is fascinating!

The stunning waterfront city of Victoria is the vacation capital of Canada, it attract over six million visitors yearly!

Cream of Ice Cream!

I notice on my FaceBook that an ex-Star colleague is in Vancouver and she love ice cream, I asked her if she knew about this joint in Vancouver that serves 218, yes; TWO HUNDRED AND EIGHTEEN flavours of yummy Italian Gelato ice cream...

From a local paper, and I quote:

"Tucked away in an industrial corner of East Vancouver where Venables Street crosses the railroad track (1033 Venables Street, 251-3211) is an Italian ice-cream factory and parlour to make the Roman gods droll.

According to owner Vince Misceo, who is from Bitritto in southeastern Italy. La Casa Gelato has more flavours available than any rival establishment in the world."

Adios Sri Intan!

In May this year I wrote about "the most authentic Nonya cuisine in New Zealand".

I was talking about Sri Intan Malaysian & Vietnamese Cuisine at Lot 11, 945A New North Road, Mt Albert, Auckland.

Sad to say, last week I was informed by Charles and Janet that they are closing Sri Intan effective 11 Oct! To all their fans they are offering special $250 a table for ten which showcase TEN of their best Nonya dishes!

Adios Sri Intan, you will be missed!

Nyonya food at its best, in Auckland ?!

Yesterday (2 Oct 2009) I was informed by Charles and Janet that they are closing Sri Intan effective 11 Oct! To all their fans they are offering special $250 for ten table which showcase TEN of their best Nonya dishes! Adios Sri Intan, you will be missed!

The Sri Intan story...

The General and I were in Auckland sending off her sisters back to Malaysia, we decided to hang around Auckland for a couple of nights to catch up with friends.

The last time we met up with Charles and Janet in Auckland was in March 2007! Janet introduced us to the Gyuto Monks and I wrote about them in "An Enlightenment Journey" in my old blog.

This time round we are very excited to savour their latest creation, some named it "the most authentic Nonya cuisine in New Zealand"!