Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Monday, April 21, 2008

ZweetBeez Dining - Fong Lye Taiwanese (The Gardens)

Got date again from three pretties on Saturday (04/20/2008), yahoos…!! Kind of miss them for didn’t meet up since months ago. We decided not to go for Karaoke this time; planned to have some good food and hot chicks’ favorite---shopping in Mid Valley + The Gardens, hiak hiak~~

Mei Yen kept saying she very the hungry when we met up at 5pm. As a result, we agreed to have early dinner before the little princess Mei Yen fainted down or got gastric, ahaha.. Too early for me actually, but since I’m a sincere person, no problem! See, that’s called friend ok, be tolerant and caring to each other!! *Eksyen*

I’m this piggish person already made some research on special and attractive restaurants that new opened in The Gardens before the day, ehehe.. So I suggested to try at either Sushi Zen (Wai Yong loves Japanese food) or Fong Lye Taiwanese Restaurant (I wanted to try out this so long long ago!! :p). The “election” result from four of us was Fong Lye, yeah! (^;^) Before walking to Fong Lye, the decoration and crowds inside gave us confidence to dine there, it wouldn’t be wrong too much for following where crowds go. We stepped in happily lor then.
WaiYong: Ermmm... This looks nice, that looks nice too.. Which one to choose leh.. Aiyo, sakit kepala!!
Wendy: *Happy* We order banyak banyak la.. Must eat puas puas!!
If you order any tea from the menu, it will be serve in this authetic teapot and little cups.

The selection list from menu made four of us excited n looked forward to taste it as much as possible, haha, tham chiak!! Half of selection from the menu are set meal (1 person), and the rest: A’ la carte, appetizer, side order, dessert, beverage and etc.

The following are what we ordered and the comment for each of them:

Appetizer, Sweet Potato Ball (地瓜球) RM 4.80


The most special thing about this lovely appetizer was, it came the last among the food, hahha.. Sweet potato ball is favorite delight for Taiwanese and you can get it easily from most of streets in Taiwan. The main ingredients are mashed sweet potato and Tapioca starch. All ingredients are mixed into dough, deep-fried, and then sweet potato ball will be born! It tastes like Malay’s Cucuk Ubi, but when u bite the ball, it gives u the feel like puff, wonder how the chef make it! Hence, it not as sweet as Cucuk Ubi, so even u finished whole plate of it, your stomach wouldn’t filled much, there’s still more spaces for food to go! If the Sweet Potato came first for the meals, I believe it would be a good start for the dining. I like this one!

Set Meal, the Three Varieties Supreme Diced Chicken (三杯鸡) RM 18.80


Included in the set meal were: Three varieties diced chicken in clay pot, soup of the day (lotus brewed with chicken), two pieces little deep-fried thingy, pickled cucumber and a bowl of rice topped with Taiwanese beloved braised mince meat. One thing should praise for Fong Lye is, they served the exact varieties in a set meal like what people do in Taiwan, didn’t cut-off anything to save cost or effort (like lots of restaurants). Wendy & Mei Yen claimed the chicken was a little too sweet and salty, but for me such heavy taste lover, it really good and just nice! Even better when have it with rice! One thing to be noted, if you’re not use to basil leaves’ smell. Please do not try this or you will just leave the chicken over.

Taiwanese Deep Fried Boneless Chicken (盐酥鸡) RM 8.80


Thumbs up for the deep fried chicken! The cutlet’s out layer was crunchy and juicy for the inner part, “ho liao”! Again, the basil leaves were use for the selection but it didn’t leave much unique fragrant after deep fried together with chicken. It’s really wonderful when I recalled the moment the chicken melt in my mouth in juice with crunch… Owhh.. A must try item for fried stuffs’ lover!


The disappointed items were Taiwan Style Fried Clam (台式炒啦啦) RM13.80 and TW Meat Ball (肉圆) RM5.80

The fried clams tasted like home-style cooking like normally our mom did, fried with garlic and a little oyster sauce (additional ingredient used by Fong Lye was again, basil leaves). This way of cooking style for clams is to bring out the freshness and succulence of the clams (provided the clams are really fresh). Unfortunately, the clams used that day weren’t that fresh and it tasted yucky for me. I couldn’t stand for non-fresh poultry and seafood. If you want to go for this, make sure u double confirm with their waiter/tress that the clams for the day is fresh enough.

Next, Taiwan meat ball. The meat ball wasn’t similar with the meatball we had in local. It’s like giant dumpling which the thick skin was made from sticky rice starch with mushroom braised minced meat filling. The meat ball has really thick + tasteless skin (at least 1cm I think) and filling inside was pity little. Personally feel the meat ball was terrible but Wai Yong seems like enjoy it, she finished another half of giant meat ball after three of us gave up on this item. Haha.. Wendy: Yeah.. I'm on camera! Give you a sweet sweet smile.. Hiak hiak..

Finally, dessert time came! Peanut Snow Mountain (花生泡泡冰) RM7.80


Peanut Snow Mountain is water ice in peanut flavor. The water ice was really smooth and rich with peanut paste. You could get the gamy peanut savor for every single mouth, woooohh… Syok!! Wendy kept praising the peanut snow mountain from her first taste until bottom of the water ice. Four of us LOVE this! Another must try item for Fong Lye. Foooh... the food all gone like after tornado *gigling*

Total bill was RM 78.90 and about RM20 for each of us, reasonable price huh.. Nice décor , clean condition and good ambiance, I will pay for another visit to try out many other food on their menu. Looking forward!!

Adress: Lot T-208, Level 3, The Gardens, Mid Valley City.

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

ZweetBeez's Dining - DuViet Vietnamese Cuisine

After heavy rain that started since evening, traffic was jammed everywhere even the junction right infront my condo! Aduh... After struggling, decided to give up my plan to dinner at Sri Hartamas's Sugimoto since this morning in office *grrr..*

Hero Leong suggested to explore some dinner place that we never tried yet in Uptown (Damansara Jaya) since there is quite near from my place and still heaps of restaurant that seems attractive. After rounding n rounding the whole Uptown *choosy right? :p* , we decided to dine in a vietnamese restaurant named Du'viet that looks great from outside, hope the food is as surprising as the "cover", eheheh...

The "cover" of the restaurant.














*Besides the booklet menu that placed outside their entrance, menu on LCD screen also helps to attract customers!! and i'm one of those dude who was attracted.
You can see the circumspective wall decoration while walking up the stairs. And, their menu for customers. (right)















Since Hero Leong said he wanted to go for "Tong Sui" in SS2 after the meal, we decided not to order too much dishes like we always did. hehehee... Felt like wanna eat both noodle and rice, we ordered Vietnamese Fried Seafood noodle, Tamarind Prawns and Braised duck in Special Nut Sauce as recommended by the friendly and cutie waiter. Didn't make decision to order the favourites for vietnamese food like Combo Platter (vermicelli salad + sugarcane prawn stick+meatballs+prawn rolls+etc etc) coz we had it everytime we were in vietnamese restaurant, wanna try other vietnamese specialty indeed.


For drinks, i gave up my beloved Vietnamese"Triple Color Ice" to reserve place for 'tong sui' later. So again, recommended by cutie waiter, Vietnamese Lotus Flower Tea become our choice.

The drink came very fast, around 2-3 minutes after that.
The Lotus Flower Tea (RM6/pot) taste differently from Chinese Tea or English Tea that we normally had. Hero Leong claimed that the tea aroma smell like basil leaves' (九层塔), ahahaa, and I argued the taste similiar with dried grasses, it taste odd at first when i drank it, but after sometimes it become smoother and smoother for my taste bulb and throat. The waiter kept coming and refilled the tea for us, i guess we finished at least 3 pots for the tea. Hero Leong discovered there wasn't any lotus flower in the pot, only something looked like chinese tea leaves were found, we suspested that the ingredient is lotus leaves!! Hiak hiak.. No wonder the tea tasted like "Steam Sticky Rice in Lotus Leave" (荷叶饭)。


Vietnamese Fried Seafood Noodle came next, 5 mins after our drink served, fast right? The noodle was good, seafood (prawn, squid, fish fillet slices) was fresh, vegetable heaps and enough for me this vegie lovers, but the noodle was a bit little. Anyway we satisfied by the volume of seafood and vegie inside.


Vietnamese Fried Seafood Noodle. RM13,90















After that Tamarind Prawns!!! (RM15,90)















We love the prawn! It tastes like my mom's Assam Udang, the kampung style cooking that use assam juice,oyster sauce and thick soy sauce as seasoning and gravy. Ho chiak, ho chiak, yummy! The prawn size was medium, just right to pay the price lo. Haha.


Braised Duck in Special Nut Sauce(RM15.90).




The braised duck was the disappointment for the night : (. Duck was duck, nut was still nut, both ingredients didn't match each other to bring suprising taste. Even the soup itself dun hv nut's fragrant.. Aduh... When we ordered this, we thought the nut sauce would be something like satay gravy, but when served, we discovered the nut sauce here was whole peanut+walnut cooked in the "soy sauce soup",hehhehe, that's what was recommended by the waiter. Swear not to believed them easily next time! But still there are lots of waiter/waitress intro good food in other place la..


Over all, the ambience were great, nice decoration and friendly waiters, food was served fast and not really too bad. You can get whatever you want such as tissue paper, chilies, spoon etc etc, from the waiter in a twinkle of eyes!


Believe that there is still some good food, may try it out another day if I couldn't think of where to eat, hiak hiak.... Du'Viet won't be my first choice for Vietnamese cuisine, ahahha.. However, if you are looking for a romantic and serene place to date special one, you may try out this place!


Address: 41A&43A, Uptown 37,Damansara Utama, PJ. (Same row with HSBC and Starbucks)


马桶之溅






很多朋友都说他们不大喜欢用公厕,尤其是想上‘大号’ 的时候。我当然知道当中的原因啦,因为我也曾经和大家一样!

八十五巴仙的姐妹们每当用公厕时,无论是蹲厕(没马桶)或坐厕(有马桶) ,老实说都是蹲在上面的啦。就算你是个公德心爆膨的家伙,坚持蹲厕才蹲,坐厕就坐;可是当你又急马桶上又布满鲜艳的黄色‘斑点’ 时 ,我看你也得乖乖蹲上去了啦, 嘻嘻。。

言归正传,我之前非常讨厌使用公厕,因为经历过一些恶心到我无法原谅我自己的上大号过程。中学时的某一天,我可能吃错东西而‘漏粪’(泻肚子) 了。记得那天上厕所的次数比一个星期上的还多。 *笑* 当天第N次时,由于肚里那‘巧克力色海浪’ 似乎就快排山倒海的涌出来了,直到已蹲上马桶的那一刻,才看到~~ 妖孽!!前一个人没把他的“蛋糕” 冲干净。。。啊啊啊。。!!!我还来不及让我的巧克力海浪煞车,它们就吼着冲向马桶里去了。。

结局如何?各位聪明人士请动动脑筋吧。。当某个物体在空中向静止的水面冲下去时,水的反应就是,反弹向同个方向咯。超级无敌幸运的我,白嫩嫩的屁屁布满了曾经浸过别人大便的水滴。。。<惨痛回忆>


经过那次中奖后,如果没急到四肢软弱的话,上大号决不用公厕。大学开始,多数时间都得留在外面忙课业,要上大号时成了我最大的烦恼啦。幸好有个同学知道后教了我一个很妙的方法,上号时马桶里的水不会溅上来了耶!

使用这个方法的主要材料是,蹬蹬蹬蹬。。多张<厕纸>,俗称大便纸,或纸巾也可以。使用前把它们平铺在马桶内的水面上,那就会减低水滴溅到你屁屁上的机会咯!!虽然有点浪费纸,可是我觉得这个方法赞!也比较为生嘛。。可是最最最重要的还是,把马桶多冲一次噢。。祝大家,上大号愉快!!

Monday, April 14, 2008

油炸鬼




前几天到新开不到半年的国际美食街场逛逛,除了发现有不少打破传统和具有创意的小食店外,最令我感兴趣的是油条专卖店!不难在各巷口和巴杀(菜市场) 都能见到的廉价小食,材料和制作过程都很简单 (当然工夫是重要的一环) ,经过商家一些些“创意” 改造,价格提升了大概三倍以上!!决定试试!!啊~~ 我只能一面咬着含榴连馅的“创意” 油条,一面自叹生意脑袋不如人。不妨告诉大家我的<吃后感>,我只能说油条还是油条,榴连还是通常吃到的人造榴连味,没什么惊喜啦,嘻嘻。。

还记得油条的由来吗?传说南宋时代有对秦桧夫妇,因卖国而遭受百姓痛恨。这对夫妇财势壮大,百姓们只能把对他俩的厌恶往肚里吞咯。那时京城有名脑筋转得快的丁姓小贩,把面团做成人形,一双双的于油锅里大火炸,取名油炸桧。意图为何?聪明的大家肯定明了!

那时人们为了向他们俩暗暗复仇而研制油炸鬼,希望能够借此令这两夫妇遗臭万年,后人口垂弃。可是到了这个年代,似乎多数人都爱那香喷喷,爽爽脆口的油炸鬼呢!当我们香滋滋的吃着油条时,有多少人还想得起那人鬼共愤的坏蛋夫妇?我想我们多数人所想到的是:“如果现在有碗热呼呼的豆浆/炼奶/枷耶(kaya)让我配油条那多好!” 哈哈,多讽刺!代表这坏蛋夫妇的油条现在是千里留香,万人至爱噢。。。

回想起来,真该表扬那姓丁的小贩,他为多少后代开了条生计之路啊,*掌声*

亲爱的朋友们,将来当你和孩子们一起享用油条时,别只顾着赞油条有多好吃或警告他们油条吃太多会热气之类的话,提一提油炸鬼的由来吧!

Sunday, April 13, 2008

憾less?


许许多多人在咽下最后一口气前,都或多或少会有遗憾。遗憾没吃到某些食物,遗憾没见到某个人,遗憾没去到某个地方,遗憾没为自己的梦想努力,遗憾。。。

我家一向都有个不成文的规定,那就是不论清明节,祭祖,已故祖先忌日,都一定要有一样(与别户人家不一样)的供品, 那就是我爸小时候村子里一档叫罗记的肉包子。每逢拜祭祖先的日子,我爸都会特以两小时的车程回村购买肉包子来拜祭嬷嬷。话说嬷嬷年轻时嫁给了当锡米工人的爷爷。对贫穷又多小孩的家里来说,包子,尤其是肉馅的,是奢侈的呢。嬷嬷为了补贴家计,每黎明时分前就得到橡胶园里割橡胶树。罗记前的那条小路是她每天的必经之地,冒着烟的蒸笼里是那热腾腾的,嬷嬷的最爱,肉包子。。嬷嬷只能趁经过的那几秒钟,暗暗的嗅着由蒸气透出的包子香(爸说的,可能是嬷嬷告诉他的吧)。孩子们(我的姑姑伯伯) 大了之后,都到外坡工作,我爸也带着嬷嬷搬到城市生活了。爸知道嬷嬷爱吃肉包子,尤其是罗记的,就常特地搭车回村里买给嬷嬷。两三次之后,嬷嬷就囔说包子水准大跌,不准爸爸再去买了。几年后的某一天,嬷嬷突然致电于正在办工的爸爸,说她很想吃罗记的肉包子,吩咐爸爸一定要买回来。干完活后爸就连午餐都没吃就赶回村里去了。饿透的爸爸随手拿了个包子来吃,一口咬下,松软多汁的肉馅,油香鲜甜即刻溢满口中。‘还是没变啊,味道和功夫和以前一样嘛’ 爸心想。顿时他了解了,罗记包子并不是水准变差,嬷嬷也不是不爱它了,而是疼爱爸爸的她不忍心爸爸为了几个包子老远奔波。回城的路上,爸的手提响起了,传来的是嬷嬷逝世的消息。。。离开人间的嬷嬷把她的憾,遗留给了爸爸。。

外公生前是名知识份子,在中华民国革命时考虑到一家大小的安危,飘洋过海来到马来亚半岛寻求安定的生活。从此就把自己献身于教育界,奋身执教工作,希望能培育出一般有知识的华人子弟。外公重病时最挂念的是家乡的那片土地,一直懊悔没重归旧土。

妈妈有个会计师朋友,临终前说:“芭蕾舞啊,我的梦,为何我从没让你在青春里停留过?” 妈含泪告诉我这位阿姨自小的梦想就是穿上芭蕾舞衣忘我的旋转在音乐世界里,可是高中毕业后听从长辈们的意欲就读了会计。日复一日的现实社会令她遗忘了自己对舞蹈那颗曾经炽热的心。。。

回想在过去的人生当中,做了多少让自己遗憾的抉择呢。人通常走到人生尽头时,才发现自己为了追求遥远的目标而错过身边平凡美丽的事物; 当然,也有觉醒自己一直原地踏步,忘了梦想,忘了追梦的。

我有许多的朋友们,都觉得我是个很会享受的一个人,难听的说,就是个挥霍的家伙(笑) 。我喜欢享受当下,吃得好,穿得好,那样会让我觉得满足和快乐,有时候甚至觉得如果我的人生都是这么充满满足感,可能到离开人间的那一刻,都不会觉得自己白活了吧。。人生嘛,就是自己活下来的,待自己好些吧,我们永远都不能肯定明天的到来。珍惜眼前的一分钟,稍微加点心思,完成自己的理想吧;别让遗憾这个被包留在任何人的担子上。