Raya Prep – Popia Nestum

I have 3 major things to do before Eid;

to complete my pending medical reports – urghhh.. I hate them. So many paperwork
finalize certain details regarding my mini Tabung Minci project for Ramadhan
literally prepare for Eid

with regards to the latter, I have summoned my domestic genki in listing down my juadah raya and building up actual motivation to accomplish them.

Props biar gempak.. semangat mesti ada..

My cookies/cakes would include;

Cornflakes madu (every year mesti ada)

Popia Horlick Nestum (this is new)

Kerepek aneka rasa plus rempeyek of course

Apam mekar – like yeh.. rumah aku pun.. I will serve whatever I want

Kuih lapis – yet to decide which one. Mestilah home made!!

Special drinks

Soursop soda .. or bandung soda.. and like any Sarawakian although staying in Semenanjung… is ayek gas

To start the ball rolling -I made POPIA NESTUM today. Despite its simple recipe, it still took me nearly 2 hours to make it. I loved the result. My son enjoyed the crispiness of it as well and like any wonderful daughter in law – I’ve made a jar for my MIL. So baik and solehah right.. muekekeke.

Manual labour involved a lot of rolling and cutting. And for a pack of 40sheets popia, I managed to fill in a tub of popcorn tub. OKlah hoh.. The powder mixture for sprinkling was easy. You combine nestum, horlicks and castor sugar together. After frying the cut rolls, you just need to cool it down before coating it with the mixture.

Selamat mencuba!!

12Nov2015

hello Ipoh – our hotel and food

Posted in Food and Drinks, Leisure & Travel, Places to Eat by Minci 先生

This was a much awaited trip.

The 5 hour journey however turned into a 7 hour stretch. I swear I could grow a beard in the car. or have roots growing from my buttocks. We bumped into a lot of mini accidents along the way, none were that disruptive to the traffic but invited audiences in the driver seat to have a peek all the same. It was raining cats and dogs in Ipoh hence we were glad when we finally arrived at the doorsteps of DeParkview Hotel.

The hotel boasts of a 2 star facility. I wouldn’t mind giving it a 3 star based on the warm welcome at the front desk itself. Both ‘aunty’ and ‘uncle’ seems to know the best place to get food including whereabouts of the local Pasar Malam and best place to get limau bali.

I loved the new-ish room and bathroom facility with hot showers! It has a kettle – yeay! Two complimentary bottles of mineral water with coffee sachets on arrival (only). Free shower gels, toothbrush and fresh towels. Apart from that, ironing board, extra pillows and hairdryers are available upon request.

Perhaps we’ve missed the memo but the rooms are not made up on a daily basis despite putting a sign outside the room. Thus, we had 3 days worth of rubbish sitting in the dustbin in the room throughout the stay. We did look for a common bin outside the room, along the alley .. just in case. But there were none. So we left the bin outside the room for the rubbish to be disposed of. It worked. So thats why its a 2 star facility – hahaha. Yang penting bersih.

Now comes the important question :

Would I stay in this hotel again? A definite YES!

Our main objective to Ipoh was actually to visit The Lost World of Tambun. Will get to that later. Sambil menyelam sambil minum air. We did however get to taste some of the popular local eateries here. 2 in particular are;

LAKSA TELUR GORENG BERSARANG

Kafe Setinggan Laksa Telur Goreng Bersarang

No.1,Jalan Margosa D/8,Seri Margosa,

Taman Seri Botani.

We had a difficult time persuading our little Ultraman to come along. All he wanted to do was watch cartoon in the hotel room. The laksa was a bit spicy for our boy but we adults enjoyed it. Kira adalah rasa ikan. We were a bit lost at first on how to place our orders but we followed the crowd. The place was packed. The turnover rate for each table was pretty fast.

I was a tad disappointed however with the attitude of some of the young uns. There is little ‘urgency’ to eat up their food and they somehow seemed oblivious to their surroundings. Its as though they feel the need to claim their birthright to sit at the table for hours talking nonsense because ‘hey I paid for my laksa and drinks – I can sit here for as long as I like’ come on lah – this laksa is so nice you should share it with other people. Let this makcik have a seat and enjoy the meal as well.

This is a noodle based dish served in a fish-y soup concoction. Normal laksa would have hard boiled eggs as its choice of condiments. This particular cafe chose to serve its eggs in a nest-like appearance hence its name. It was delicious all the same.

My next mention is ..

NASI VANGGEY

Apparently this Nasi Vanggey was also referred to as Nasi Ganja because it’s said to be very addictive. Also seems like Nasi Kandar to me. A rice dish with many side dishes to choose from. I ate safe by having what is biasa. Mr Husband chose my dishes of sotong kari and ayam madu. I am not a fan of rice dishes (omputih sangat) but I suppose this one is OK. I wouldn’t mind having it again. Boleh kenyang satu hari.

Perhaps I can next try the Halal Dumplings. Or any other special Ipoh food apart from the coffee. Any recommendations?

25Oct2015

First attempt at laksa

Posted in Everyday Life, Food and Drinks, Good Things by Minci 先生

It was daunting but I did it. This has got to be the most complicated dish I ever served to anybody. And this is coming from someone who has no idea how to cook a proper kuah kacang for Hari Raya.

I made Laksa Penang today. Or is it Laksa Utara? I couldn’t tell the difference.

My parents and my younger sister together with her family was in town. This morning moi made some nasi goreng ikan bilis and egg + tomato sandwiches. I felt we needed something lighter for lunch so I browsed Google for ‘recipe laksa penang mudah guna ikan mackerel dalam tin‘. There were a few trustworthy sites and recipe until I found 2 distinct ones that I could combine to make into a Minci Malas tapi Nak Masak Version.

Missing an important garnish ingredient: hard boiled egg

I should have been more prepared in the kitchen for I was later finding myself sprinting from the kitchen to the laptop in the living room to check on my steps. For some reason, I did not feel it was appropriate to mobilise my laptop to the kitchen. Perhaps I enjoyed the running and drama.

My sister said it was delicious. I’m not quite sure if she was genuine. Ha ha. But since the laksa noodles were finished in one sitting, I supposed there is truth somewhere. I still have some leftover gravy for the next batch if I feel like it. Here’s to my personal cooking adventure!!

14Oct2015

Home cooked food – Kimchi Fried Rice

Posted in Everyday Life, Food and Drinks, Online Store by Minci 先生

It’s the Awal Muharam public holiday today and I am very relieved to not be oncall.

Special occasions like this are usually times when ‘home chefs’ get a break from the kitchen. Eat at the restaurant or something. I on the other hand had a particular craving for something Korean to eat. So we stayed in and had home cooked food. I whipped up KImchi Bokkeumbap for lunch – in other words Nasi Goreng Kimchi.

I bought my Kimchi through a local online seller. The IG account looked legit @kimchimalaysia. In conjunction with #mycybersale2015, it costs RM22 for 500g worth of kimchi (discount yay!). I had the kimchi as a side dish, as bits in my cucur/cekodok .. I gave part of it to my Mother-in-Law just in case she wants a taste of the kimchi as well. The few final spoons were used for my fried rice. I managed to finish the kimchi in less than a week. Sedap sangat!!

Recipes are everywhere. I basically had garlic, splashes of oyster sauce and kimchi in the rice. It tasted OK. Very sour. it leaves this zing! in your mouth on your tongue after the meal.

I will definitely order this again when the next craving strikes!

많이 드세요.

[Mani tuseyo.]

29Sep2015

29 Sept – International Coffee Day

Posted in Everyday Life, Food and Drinks by Minci 先生

Describe briefly your early experience of drinking coffee

Coffee consumption was apparently a big deal when I was younger.

Aik Cheong Instant Coffee was my maiden taste of coffee. In fact my father freaked out when he knew that his 14 year old daughter does not order MIlo Peng or Teh C Peng anymore. His advice regarding caffeine consumption was lengthy – he even puts limits to the cups I drink in a day and the timing I take this beverage. Amidst the unnecessary chaos, I was thinking ‘WOW.. this is a really grown up, adult drink’. Later on, father was more relaxed – it became my way of knowing that father has started to accept that his little princess is entering the young-adult phase.

Despite my love for coffee, mainly for its aroma and temporary high alertness properties – I wouldn’t declare myself a fanatic. You could put a Trung Nguyen brew and a Kopi Luwak in front of me and I wouldn’t know the difference. Not that I’ve tasted the latter though.

Instant coffee have always been a my choice for the daily fix. I did buy a coffee maker machine to brew my own cuppa but unfortunately the pot fell off the counter and I haven’t been able to brew my own for ages. The Trung Nguyen grounded coffee is still standing strong in my pantry.

What do you look out for when you buy your coffee

~~Cheap~~ Affordable or perhaps a better way of putting it – is good value for your money, anything that has ‘milk’ in it and a wonderful aroma.

In a cafe, what would be your favourite choice of coffee

I normally order the ones that I could easily pronounce – like Latte & Cappuccino. So a trip to Starbucks is very daunting and intimidating. Perhaps the most comfortable cafe I’ve been to is bing! in Kuching. I love not only the coffee but the tasty panini as well. They even serve many lovely pots of tea. My new favourite tea after Twinings Lady Grey has got to be their Camomile Tea.

Sadly, I have yet to try Coffee Art drinks – that would be a lovely experience innit

How important is coffee in your daily life – what benefits do you see in coffee

My 3-in-1 is my eye opener in the morning especially on oncall days when you’ve stayed up the whole night – managed to get a wink and suddenly you need to be on the roll again. My max number of servings in a day is probably two and I try to avoid taking them late in the evening as I treasure my sleeping hours very much.

I see it as a bonding agent, an element one could use for socialising or discussing serious matters. Don’t we always hear “let’s talk about this over a cup of coffee, ey?” or when you want to invite someone to your home ” would you like to come in for coffee?” Honestly just say yes even though she serves instant coffee.

Apparently, coffee too have beauty-related benefits. My father just came back from a working trip to Medan the other day and they had a spa session using coffee based skin scrubs. He said he smelled like a blend of Arabica and Robusta. Lol..

I am open to coffee products of SME businesses. For example the Hai O Mineral Coffee and the variety of Kopi Delima sold at Kip mart and all. These coffee however are usually not a mere 3 in 1. they sometimes have 14 in 1. *gasp*. interestingly, these alternative coffee are more expensive that the mainstream ones we see on TV like Nescafe and its friends. As of tomorrow, I’m just going to stick with my Old Town Hazelnut coffee.

Happy Coffee Day.

Minci Moss

Building a life I love

Category Archives: Food and Drinks