A very Rich yummy experience August 9, 2010
Posted by The Giddy Tiger in : Drooling & Cooking , 3commentsThe emergence of modern kopitiams, as I like to call them, has provided an opportunity for food-lovers to enjoy their favorite hawker-style food in a cozy ambience. More importantly though, these modern kopitiams do take into consideration the fact that families with kids need to be comfortable too, and hence they provide things like baby chairs and are mostly air-conditioned.
Our relationship with the modern kopitiam started with Old Town, and since then we have frequented this kopitiam almost every weekend.
However, about a month or so ago, along came a kopitiam by the name of Pappa Rich, and since it was located just down the block from the Old Town we usually go to, we decided to give it a try. The neverending crowd of patrons served as a sign that the food was not bad.
And now we’re hooked.
Not only does the food taste better than Old Town (IMHO) but Pappa Rich has taken the liberty to include a very important detail in ANY restaurant: a wash basin and a toilet (both of which are missing in the Old Town we used to go to).
Take a look at some of the food they serve:
Hainanese Chicken Rice: Both my kids LOVE this! Delicious steamed chicken rice served with bean sprouts and some soup.
Roti Bakar with Butter and Kaya: We simply LOVE this! They use the thick soft white bread (roti Bengali), just lightly browned, and there’s some butter and kaya on the side. My son only wants butter (no kaya), so this is perfect because we can mix and match the ratio of butter:kaya on our bread to our liking. For people who can’t get enough of the kaya, they also sell the kaya by the bottle.
Curry Laksa: This tastes much better than Pappa Rich’s Assam Laksa, mostly because the Assam Laksa was way too spicy for my liking. We usually order either this Curry Laksa or the Dry Curry Mee (no pictures because the presentation is not much to shout about).
Nasi Lemak: We ordered this just once, but that was enough to convince us that it tastes superb. It’s definitely miles better than its Old Town counterpart, that’s for sure, and the winning ingredient is the tasty chicken curry.
Milo Dinosaur: This is my son’s favorite drink. It’s basically iced Milo with a mountain of Milo powder scooped on top. Very tasty, but only for the Milo-addict 
This is my son demonstrating how to enjoy this drink:
And our dessert du jour:
Pappa ABC: Delicious ais kacang done just right. Very generous with all ingredients and definitely a must-try, provided you still have the stomach for it at the end of your meal!
We’ve never encountered a time when Pappa Rich wasn’t filled with customers; yes, it is THAT popular… Pappa is definitely very RICH now…
Oh, by the way, just in case you were wondering, NO…we didn’t eat all the food above in one visit. With kids in tow, I have had to space out my food photography to several days. 
What’s Smooth and Jiggly? July 29, 2010
Posted by The Giddy Tiger in : Drooling & Cooking , 2comments
Yesterday, I attempted to cook something new for my family. It was my first try at making the “Three Emperor Steamed Eggs” dish, something I’d first eaten back in Ipoh when I was a little girl. It’s called “Sam Wong Tan” in Cantonese, a dish that sounds VERY royal, but is very very simple to cook indeed.
Last weekend, the owner of the organic shop I frequented gave me one century egg and one salted duck egg as a “sample” to try, so I figured I might as well cook this dish.
I consulted my Mom and also checked the internet for tips and tricks to perfect this dish. The most difficult part was to get the mixture smooth and just the right texture, not too hard and not too soft. And of course, even more tricky was to get my picky eater of a toddler to eat it.
Anyway, here’s what I used:
- 2 chicken eggs
- 1 century egg
- 1 salted duck egg
- minced pork, marinaded with soy sauce, dash of pepper and some sesame oil
First I whisked the chicken eggs, and then according to the tip I got from Flavor Explosions, I added in hot water to the mixture, while still whisking it. I then sliced the century egg and arranged it together with the duck egg in the steaming bowl (I used my Corningware dish because I do not have a stainless steel plate). Next, I poured the minced pork at the base of the dish, followed by the egg mixture on top.
The mixture is then steamed on LOW heat to ensure even steaming. Before serving, I garnished with fried shallots.
For my first attempt, I would say it is very satisfactory. The texture was very Japanese-tofu-like, and very smooth. Most importantly, my *guests* all gave their thumbs up!
Have you cooked this dish before, and do you have any other tips you’d like to share with me?
A haven of Ipoh food June 21, 2010
Posted by The Giddy Tiger in : Close to Heart & Home, Drooling & Cooking , 1 comment so farFour days in Ipoh just wasn’t enough to savor all the different wonderful types of food this hometown of mine has to offer. But I did what I could in whatever time I had…I even forgot to take some photos because I was way too excited to rekindle that love when I laid eyes on the feast before me.
Anyway…one of my must-haves is the Canning Garden chee cheong fun, now relocated to Central restaurant somewhere near Hotel Excelsior. I ordered the small plate the first day and the day before I left, I ordered the large plate. Tung-koo-chup chee cheong fun at its best…it just doesn’t get any better than this.
I didn’t miss out on the dim sum either. There are so many dim sum shops in Ipoh, we were definitely spoilt for choice as to which one to choose.
And then, definitely NOT to be missed, the chicken koay teow (kai see hor fun) in Ipoh Old Town. Kong Heng probably has the best kai see hor fun around, and it was definitely a bowl to savor. I was definitely sorry when I finished the last bits of my bowl. Ipoh koay teow is still the smoothest in the world, and slurping up every bit is just plain delicious!
I also wanted to have the ever famous Caramel Custard from Thean Chun, located just right beside Kong Heng. But apparently due to rivalry and whatnot, we are allowed only to order from Thean Chun, and bring the custard over to Kong Heng ourselves. That being said, it was still well worth the effort (Thanks Mom!) and the smooth custard with the sweet-sweet caramel sauce drizzled all over it was just heavenly!
Of course, I didn’t forget to tar pow the famous Yee Hup Hiong Piah. They’ve now made it halal, and the packaging is all done up nicely, like so…yum!
Missed out several other types of yummy Ipoh food like the salt-baked chicken, beef stew, etc but there’ll be other times…
A Delicious Detour that did us Good June 7, 2010
Posted by The Giddy Tiger in : Drooling & Cooking , 2commentsWe had planned on having a Japanese lunch before we headed back to Penang. We even had a specific location in mind, somewhere in Damansara Uptown.
But fate must have had other ideas.
As we walked towards the Japanese restaurant, something beckoned us as we passed a Vietnamese restaurant, just a few doors away. I was drawn to the menu because it had a few of the Vietnamese stuff I love.
The name Du Viet sounded familiar, but we couldn’t quite remember where we had seen it before. Most importantly, I checked to see if they had the Vietnamese Beef Stew dish, that Ethan loved back in the US.
Oh yes, they did…and they had other stuff too…
Like the summer rolls…
Tasted good, but there was something missing in the peanut sauce…
Hubbs had the dried noodles…
Verdict: Not enough fish sauce, and the noodles should be the Vietnamese vermicelli, instead of regular meehoon.
I, of course, ordered the beef broth noodles. They didn’t have a whole lot of selection and customization available, though. And I felt they could have added more basil.
Verdict: I’ve had better. Broth was not thick enough, noodles were koay teow, when I was expecting the thinner Vietnamese vermicelli.
The highlight of our lunch, however, was the dessert. My sister-in-law recommended their durian pancake, which, according to her, was to die for.
I thought I had gotten over durians, but when I put that spoonful of durian pancake in my mouth, it was just HEAVEN in one bite! See how tempting it looks?
It’s like they took the durian, removed the seed, and replaced it with some whipped cream. So it’s got some of the durian inside, mixed with the cream…the result was a SPLENDID dessert. Now, we never got this in Vietnamese restaurants in the States…. Whatever it is, I LOVED it.
I would go to this restaurant again, if only to eat this dessert.
Salad Lunches Rock! May 19, 2010
Posted by The Giddy Tiger in : Drooling & Cooking , 1 comment so far
I have a newfound love for salads. Not that I ever despised it before, but anyhow…I recently discovered that I can have a perfectly fresh, nutritious, balanced, organic, non-oily lunch and it’s absolutely healthy!
Best of all, I can be sure everything’s good because I make it and put whatever I want in it.
I foresee many many more of these lunches in the near future
By the way, lovin’ the French Dressing every single bit
Something in the Fear Factor league? May 17, 2010
Posted by The Giddy Tiger in : Drooling & Cooking , 2comments
Contrary to what you might think, these are NOT cherry tomatoes. I served these for dinner last week and nobody knew what they were.
When I bought my free range chicken earlier that morning, the poultry lady asked me if I wanted the *unhatched* eggs they had found in the chicken. Apparently that particular free range chicken was just about ready to lay eggs, and these orangey things were the eggs. The poultry lady told me to just steam them and eat, which I did.
They actually taste quite good, smoother than egg yolks. And they go really well with steamed rice.
Question is: would YOU eat them?
Fine Dining in a Fine Mansion April 25, 2010
Posted by The Giddy Tiger in : Drooling & Cooking, Relax & Celebrate, Thoughts & Scribblings , 3commentsBefore last Tuesday, Suffolk House was just a name on a brown signboard I see every day when I drive along Scotland Road. I had no idea it was a fine dining restaurant.
So when my hubby had a company function at Suffolk House, and the *spouse was invited*, I jumped at the opportunity. With quite a heavy heart though, I had to leave my kids at the sitter’s for a few hours.
This is what Suffolk House looks like from the outside. A gigantic bungalow with a huge expanse of land.
I’d read that Suffolk House served as the residence to many governors in Penang in the 19th century, especially, so it was certainly great to be in a mansion that had all that history behind it.
Anyway….enough about all that….
So when we arrived in the dining area, it was dimly and romantically lit…well, not exactly romantic, because it was not JUST the two of us, but there were other people from my husband’s team too. But anyway, we were seated and given the menu to place our order.
We only had to select our entrée though, because the appetizers and dessert was already pre-ordered. You read right, it’s appetizers in the PLURAL! A whole long list 5 appetizers, but it being fine dining and all, I knew the servings would be minuscule.
First, we had poached baby oyster in saffron cream as amuse bouche. It was served in a Chinese soup spoon, and I couldn’t get a good picture of it, but believe me when I say it was delicious!
Got pictures of some of the other appetizers though…can you spot the ONE piece of ravioli?
The last item on the appetizer list was the Tomato sorbet, which I didn’t quite like. I thought it tasted weird, hence no pictures
And this is what hubbs ordered for his main course:
I chose to have the steak..I guess I was swayed by the term “grass fed” in the description.
In conclusion, the lamb was the better choice, maybe because they made my steak well done instead of medium like I ordered. But despite that the beef was tender and the potato cake was delicious!
Here’s our dessert. We had not one, not two, but THREE different types of dessert, served in a longish plate with three sections. Gotta love the plates they use here.
My favorite was the pear carambola cake. Tasted a bit like cheese cake but with a hint of fruity flavor. The photos turned out a little bit grainy though, because of the poor lighting.
It was a fantastic fine dining experience, although the funniest thing was that after the dinner, while we were walking out of Suffolk House, I noticed this sign:
Errr….can I say oooops?
My homemade bread story March 19, 2010
Posted by The Giddy Tiger in : Drooling & Cooking , 5commentsLast weekend, I took my breadmaker out of storage after a three-year hiatus. My attempt at baking a loaf of wholemeal bread turned out slightly short of disastrous, because although the bread was “cuttable”, it was barely edible because it was so HARD and dry!
Hannah seemed to love it though, so that was good.
But I was determined to rectify my error, and tried baking another loaf the following night, this time I used lukewarm water and omitted the salt.
Unfortunately, to my dismay, when I eagerly checked on the breadmaker the following morning (I left it to bake overnight), I realized that the mixture had not moved at all! No rising was performed, no kneading was performed, and we definitely did NOT get a loaf of bread this time! 
I thought I had somehow fixed the apparatus wrongly, so I tried again. But then I discovered that when the breadmaker’s function showed KNEAD, the kneading arms of the breadmaker were just not moving! In addition, the breadmaker did NOT heat up at all. That was definitely NOT a good sign.
SIGH…I don’t know what’s wrong with it now. It’s probably going back into storage today.
Guess I shall have to visit the bakery today to BUY a loaf of bread after all!
Memorable taste of the US March 5, 2010
Posted by The Giddy Tiger in : Drooling & Cooking , add a comment
It only takes a moment to remind you of an experience. And sometimes it takes a meal to bring back sweet memories.
It’s not exactly like the phố we had in the US, but it is a branch of one of the restaurants we used to frequent while we were there. And while the menu might be slightly different, the taste is vaguely familiar.
It felt good. And comfortable.
And my Ethan boy even said, “Wow…just like in the US!”
I stayed up till 2:30a.m. last night… February 8, 2010
Posted by The Giddy Tiger in : Drooling & Cooking , 3comments… because of these doggies…
Little Miracles
Our Journey of Love
