Make Awesome Rosemary Beef Bone Soup in 3 Pictures

While I must admit I'm pretty good at boiling soup (Chinese-style) *ah hem~*, I've never shared soup recipes because duh, it's just too easy to make! Come on, don't tell me you don't know how to just dump everything in and boil that freaking pot of soup? :p

I made an exception for this recipe cos it's something different but it is as easy as other Chinese-style soups since it can all be done in three pictures yo! Got the recipe from a recipe book my colleague has (and never wrote down the title of the book) so you can claim your copyright here since I'm really not saying this is my own creation!

Anyway to cut the crap, here are what you need:
Beef bones, about 5-6 slices of sliced ginger, 3-4 sticks of fresh rosemary, onion, carrot and potatoes cut into chunky pieces, salt and black pepper to taste.

What to do:
1) Although this isn't in the recipe, I still boil the bones in water so the blood will all go away first.
2) Then pour the water out and add water into the pot, dump the ginger, rosemary and plenty of coarse black pepper and boil for about 10 minutes.

3) Then, add in all other ingredients and continue to boil for at least 2 hours.

4) Add salt to taste and serve!

The soup is almost like our ABC Soup but with a heavier taste from the beef bones, black pepper and ginger, as well as the very nice fragrant you'll get from the Rosemary. I love it a lot and have cooked it twice so far! :) 
Time to change what you know about soup-boiling yo! :p

Delicious Pork Noodles @ Restoran Sang Nyuk Noodle, SS15 Subang Jaya

Sang Nyuk Noodle is known to be a famous pork noodle that has originated from Tawau, Sabah. I've tried it when I was in KK few years back but I didn't find it that fantastic. But since this newly opened Restoran Sang Nyuk Noodle isn't too far away from home, we've decided to give it a try.

The restaurant is quite spacious but it can be quite hot if you are sitting right next to their cooking counter at the front. But they have since improved on the ventilation by installing more ceiling fans. It's quite busy during weekends with I suspect most of them are Sabahans wanting some taste of home.

I'm not sure how true it is, but they also claim that most of their ingredients are authentically from KK!

Sang Nyuk Noodle (dry), RM6.90.

Fresh and yummy ingredients! 

My favourite Sang Nyuk Noodle order here would be a dry version noodles with a mix of Bihun and yellow noodles. I especially love the bihun since they use the thicker bihun! The ingredients - pork balls, thinly sliced pork, innards, etc comes in another bowl with soup and vegetables were awesome! Fresh and yummy and the soup that has pork lard in it was just fantastic. I can tell you that totally beat the one that I had back in KK. Hands down! And for RM6.90, the portion is very generous I always feel super full ater finishing the entire portion! Phew~! I do however, think the noodle are done too dry.

Tendon Meatball (4 pcs), RM5.90.

I also love ordering the Tendon Meatball as a side. I always love Tendon Meatball but this has taken the Tendon Meatball's yumminess to another level man! Springy, flavourful (with a ginger infused flavour too of course), and simply a must-try dish, I can't help but to order this even though it isn't such a cheap side order. 

The restaurant has got new fans in us, definitely! 

They have not charge any extra charges so far and on average a meal here for two with a side and drinks would be around RM20 bucks, which is pretty good a price! Hope they keep up the good work and good price too! *wink~*

Restoran Sang Nyuk Noodle 
53, Jalan SS15/4E,
47500 Subang Jaya,
Selangor
Tel: 03-5612 2868

Something out of the Norm @ Standing Theory, SS2

It's not going to be easy to locate Standing Theory, a humble cafe situated somewhere around some housing area in SS2 that is getting a lot of attention. But once you reach that area it's hard to miss the cafe cos that's like the one and only cafe-looking cafe.

Service are the casual type here with some young boys and girls serving you in singlets and shorts, plus sandals. Never mind, we weren't there to sample hotel services anyway! And they run with an extremely simple menu. Apart from a range of coffee (no latte by the way, but no explanation too for why they don't serve latte. They just DON'T), there are four dishes ONLY to choose from in the food menu. So we ordered and paid (cash only too) and waited for our food impatiently.

Very simple-looking interior.

Out of the four dishes available, we ordered three to try.

That's all you have to choose from for brunch! 

B.B.C. Waffle, RM16.

First to come was the famous B.B.C Waffle. Sweet and savoury in one dish? I really thought it would be so weird but it turned out to be fantastic! Love how crispy the bacon was (although they could improve on the handling since half the strips were very burnt) and how it just went so perfectly well with the Gula Melaka syrup. Yup, you heard it right, Gula Melaka syrup, not honey or maple syrup! And the cornflakes ice-cream added a little texture in the dish as well. Definitely a must try! 

Con Carne, RM17.

V.D. Roll, RM10.

And then the Corn Carne, which is another mix of sweet and savoury. But for this one the stew pork was nice, just really not a fan of the corn muffin or the mixture of the corn muffin and stew pork. The V.D. Roll, which is basically BBQ pork patty in a French baguette, was surprisingly delicious. Pork patty was tender and juicy while the ingredients used - pickled radish, carrot, coriander, chili padi and roasted peanuts were although very out of the norm, turned out to be quite yummy! Love every bit of it, although I'm personally not a baguette fan. 

Cappucino, RM10.

Flat White, RM10.

We had a Cappucino and a Flat White too. their coffee beans seems to smell a little more towards the sourish side but once you have a sip, it doesn't actually taste that sour. Not too bad, just not fantastic. Very good latte art skills though, I must say! :)

The difference between adventurous eater and non-adventurous eater. :p

All together we spent RM66 (no extra charges yet) for the brunch, which was not too bad. But their food comes in a smaller-than-usual portion so I reckon you will have to order three for two to share, just like what we did. I hope they start accepting credit cards too. Great place to hang-out, especially if you are looking for some interesting food to try.

Standing Theory
26, Jalan SS2.103,
47300 Petaling Jaya
Tel: 016-212 4421

No Regrets

I'm not very good at writing sentimental stuff but since today is the National Day of Mourning for the victims of MH17 as the bodies return home, the grief has been refreshed and I think it would be good to share some thoughts.

First of all, while I haven't mentioned this in my blog or on any social media platforms, I'm still extremely sad and upset over this whole incident. I remember how I couldn't hold back my tears in church when our Pastor started talking about how heartless these people can be in shooting down these innocent lives. And believe me, in the end of the day the people responsible will just run away free. Worst of all, the world now has more killings and wars going on that make me wonder where has humanity disappears into?

Secondly, the recent flight incidents have taught me one thing, and that is, to appreciate every second you have with your loved ones because things could change the next second itself! You do not want to regret anything later on in your life!

I, myself have regretted some stuff that I've done that have wasted some precious time and someone's life, as well as creating pain and scar on my loved ones. It's quite painful to talk about it but here they are...

#1
In kindergarten I was chosen to give the BM version of graduation speech and was supposed to be part of the dance group for a competition. I chickened out on both.
- Regretted it because graduation video only has someone else delivering the speech and my kindergarten's dance group went on to win the competition. Would have been great achievements in my CV! 

#2
When I was probably 10-12 years old, I became this introvert kid (or probably just a phase in a kid's life) who refused to go out for afternoon tea and walk with my late grandfather when he invited me to. I can still vividly remember the look of disappointment on his face every single time I said 'NO'.
- Regretted it so so much because he passed away quite suddenly when I was 12 and I will never have a chance to have afternoon tea or afternoon walk with him anymore. If I could turn back time, I would say a zillion times 'YES' whenever he asked if I want to join him for afternoon tea/walk! *choke~*

#3
When I was in Form 3 busy studying for my PMR, I had a huge argument with my dad because the silly me thought he loves my younger sister more than me just because he scolded me for not helping her on her homework.
- Regretted it because it left a scare in our relationship but we all know that my dad obviously loves me more than anyone else... I LOVE YOU PAPO!!! *tears~*

I realised after these experiences, I have not regretted anything big in my life. I'm always either doing something crazy because I don't want to regret not doing it or I chose to believe better things will come even though I may regret it earlier. But things like life and time will never turn back, like how I've missed hanging out with my late grandfather but it will never happened anymore...

So, have you ever done or not done anything that you regretted so much? I think it's time to fix it. NOW.

Satisfying Brunch @ The Good Batch, Damansara Uptown

By now you would have probably heard of or even been to this much talk-about cafe which on weekends you'll expect yourself to put your name in the waiting list in order to get a table.

Lea and I did so on a Saturday afternoon but to our surprise, it took them less than 20 minutes to invite us in, with a condition, of course to sit at the bar, which we have no problem at all! Hands-down to their servicing system there!
A glance at the cafe, it's pretty simply done, providing maximum space for tables and chairs for its customers which is understandable for such a busy cafe. It was a bit noisy though with so many people in the cafe but we were quite OK sitting at the bar.

So now you see how busy it can be!

I super love how they named their food dishes! Despite all being brunches, they named them according to country/cities/races which is so cute! 

The Ang Moh, RM25.90

The Mexican, RM23.90

Lea had The Ang Moh which is what we normally call The Big Breakfast. Except for the baked potato which were too hard to eat, the dish was pretty good, especially the delicious sausage and fluffy scrambled egg! Yumsss! I had The Mexican, which is has chicken fillet, avocado and scrambled eggs wrapped in Roti Paratha for a Malaysian-infused burrito Brunch! While I personally think the filling can be improved in terms of taste, the Roti Paratha gave the burrito a crispy texture which is way better than eating thick flour or wheat made burrito wrap! Creativity scores there!

Ice Latte, RM11.50.

We also had ice-latte which was very good too with a balance of coffee fragrant and amount of milk. Smooth and nice! :)

Banana Nutella Puff, RM15.90.

The King, RM11.90.

We ordered the Banana Nutella Puff by accident and it was a letdown that I thought my version of it is definitely way better. The real deal here is The King which we were supposed to order! Hahaha! The awesome banana cake has a middle filling made of Nutella and banana slices (hence I ordered the wrong item because of the same ingredients) and the cake was covered by peanut butter and pinch of roasted peanuts! Holy cow that was probably the awesome-st cake I've ever tried in my life! Ok fine, I mean for penaut butter, Nutella and banana lovers, this is pretty much the dream cake you could ever wish for!!! I did find out later that the same supplier supplies to a few other cafes in Klang Valley so you can find The King somewhere else too yo!

Selfie done without a monopod yo!

While the servers probably dressed a little too casual (sandals and shorts), I was amazingly surprised at how professional their service was. From the short waiting time outside the cafe, till the time food was served, and how they remember I have dessert to be served after meal (mind you, it was not the same server who took our orders who asked us if we want our dessert already)! Ding ding! Added points there!
Together with the 16% charges, we paid RM116.70, which is pretty decent I shall say. At least we were quite happy with most of their food and the good service! Definitely going back one day!!!

The Good Batch
No. 53, Jalan SS21/1A,
Damansara Utama,
47400 Selangor
Tel: 7733 2303

Quality Italian Cuisine @ Porto Romano, TTDI

Porto Romano is an Italian restaurant that has been around for quite some time and has now three branches in Klang Valley. Only until recently we paid the restaurant a visit when the parent-in-law were in town.

We went to the TTDI original branch at around 7pm and it was pretty packed, especially with Malay customers waiting to break fast. Luckily we have a table reserved earlier!

'Romantic' ambience! 

The restaurant itself isn't very big, but with dimmed light and definitely cozy atmosphere I must say. I especially love the use of old movie and book posters as the main decor in the restaurant.
The menu is quite extensive, from Italian to Spanish and even Greek dishes are available. So we made our choices...

Chili Prawns, RM19.

Four Season Pizza, RM32.

We shared the Chili Prawns which was simply delicious! Fresh prawns with the nice fragrant from the minced garlic, chili and parsley made the dish a really good starter for more good food to come! Dip the breads given into the little chili oil and oh Mama Mia!!! The Four Season Pizza was not bad too, I especially love the ham but it wasn't the best pizza I've tried.

Lasagna, RM26.

Moussaka, RM38.

Seafood Spaghetti, RM30.

Seafood Rissoto, RM32.

Here comes our mains... MIL had the Lasagna which was a little disappointing as it tasted almost like what you can get from the frozen department in supermarket. Compared to that, we all prefer FIL's Moussaka, a traditional Greek dish that look almost like a Lasagna. With cheese layers and minced lamb as the main ingredients, the dish is something very new to us with an interesting twist in terms of both the texture and taste. Seafood Spaghetti was pretty awesome too with a tomato paste that I'm assuming homemade cos it tasted not as sweet as pre-packed ones and the seafood were all really fresh and big! I also love my Seafood Rissoto that comes in a white wine sauce and again fresh seafood! 

A quiet and enjoyable dinner! :)

With four mains and two sides (oh yea I bet you know we were very full that night), with service charge and government tax, the bill came up to RM205.32, which is actually pretty reasonable! Definitely worth a second visit! :)

Ristorante Porto Romano
No. 28, Persiaran Zaaba,
Taman Tun Dr. Ismail,
60000 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03-7710 0509

Healthy & Easy Broccoli Cashew Pesto Recipe

Time for some recipe sharing!

Pesto is always something that I wanted to try making myself because the price for an imported pesto sauce (like hummus/hommus) from the supermarket will normally cost you a bomb.
And since I have some cashew nuts from home since CNY, I've decided to put them into good use by making a this simple Broccoli Cashew Pesto, following this recipe.

What you need:
Boiled broccoli (I used a head of it for two servings), a handful of raw baby spinach, cashew nuts (I didn't soak it cos I wanted the nutty texture), lemon juice from half a lemon, 2 large clove of minced garlic, plenty of olive oil, salt and pepper to taste

What to do:
1) In a food processor, dump the broccoli, baby spinach, cashew nuts, minced garlic, lemon juice and some olive oil and start blending.

2) Stop before the mixture go too smooth, add in salt and pepper and more olive oil and continue to blend. 

3) You can add more olive oil occasionally if you think your pesto isn't smooth enough. Mine was done with some chunky texture which is what I prefer. 

4) Now that your pesto is done, you can have it with pasta, bread or crackers! 

I sort of heat up the pesto a bit in a pan then stir in some spaghetti to make a pasta dinner, topping it with some fried bacon bits so that the dish doesn't taste and look too 'vegan'. LOL.

Needless to say, for such an easy recipe, the pesto was awesome. Only thing I would change next time around may be to toast the cashew nuts a bit before blending them.
Happy cooking! :)

Must-Try Fried Laksa @ Well Cook Gourmet, SS15 Subang

Well Cook Gourmet is actually quite an established name in the Subang Jaya neighbourhood. Almost everyday during lunch and dinner you will see the simple-looking shop packed with its loyal customers. It took us quite a while to finally give the restaurant a try.

Their menu is quite extensive, from their signature Fried Laksa to some other fried noodle and rice dishes, up to the traditional soup laksa and their famous Popiah.

Fried Laksa, RM7.50.

Naturally, we ordered the much-talk-about Fried Laksa which definitely live up to its star status. While it is definitely an oilier version of a soup Laksa, the fried version has a unique spicy and sour kick that when added with fresh cucumber, onion, pineappla, bunga kantan and mint leaves topping made it such an unforgettable experience for the taste bud. It is a dish that looks simple yet obviously screaming of flavours. I've tried other Fried Laksa before but this is certainly way better than that. 

Popiah Set, RM6.50.

Fried Mee Jawa, RM7.50. 

We also ordered their famous Popiah set and they were truly delicious too. What I love the most is that the popiah was well executed that it was so neat and not too wet so the popiah was still firm and neat until the final piece on the plate. Taste wise, you can taste how light and fresh the ingredients were! Another thumb-up for that! We also tried the Fried Mee Jawa which was okay, but still can't beat the love we have for the Fried Laksa...

Me, the Fried Laksa lover.

At the moment, the restaurant is still free of taxes and service charge so a meal there for two with drinks and side order most definitely come up to around RM25, which is quite affordable. We have since went back again and with it being so close to home, I'm sure we will be back more often! :)

Well Cook Gourmet
No.74, Jalan SS14/2,
Subang Jaya,
47500 Selangor
Tel: 012-6754 388