Recipe: Fried Penang Asam Laksa

 

I suddenly had cravings for the Subang SS14 fried asam laksa from Well Cook Gourmet Restaurant. Since it is still not safe to travel, moreover Klang Valley is currently a red zone, I try to recreate the recipe. I'm glad to share that my first trial was a success. My family keeps refilling their plate, which is a good sign.

If you're looking for a twist to the regular asam laksa, you can try this fried asam laksa recipe. It is so simple and it doesn't take much time to prepare and cook. You can try this for pot luck as the non-cook ingredients can be prepared the day before. And your guests can add as much (or skip) the non-cook ingredients. The dish is customizable and it is really delicious to eat as a main dish. 

Lord’s Cafe Cameron Highlands: Best Scones in Malaysia

Finding traditional English food in Cameron Highlands is easy. But finding a good one can be tricky. Just like the best afternoon tea at Cameron Highlands can’t be found at established hotels, but at a quaint cafe behind an alley. 

Location: Jalan Besar, Tanah Rata, Cameron Highlands (Behind Marrybrown) 

Business hour: Daily (except Sunday) 10:00AM - 6:00PM

Price range: RM2 - RM10

Halal: Yes 

Cameron Highlands The Smokehouse Hotel Review

This is the first time I do a staycation after the Movement Control Order was imposed. It’s probably my last time as well because I wasn't prepared to be part of the crowd that might form another Covid-19 cluster in the nation. As such, my trip remained only at the hotel, at least we did stay in an amazing hotel so it wasn't that bad. 

My partner and I, we both love Cameron Highlands. We have our spots for great food and of course, the pleasant weather is always welcoming us. We made it a point to discover different hotels in Cameron each year, and this year we pick the Smokehouse. 

Penang Opening It's First Family Mart and Here are The Stuff You Need to Try

Unless you are living in a cave, you probably know the great convenience store from Japan - Family Mart. Penangites have been deprived of the goodness Family Mart has to offer for a long time. Alas, the wait is over. There are two Family Mart stores will be opening - 30th July 2020 at Karpal Singh Driver and 8th August at Juru Auto City.

Rumour has it that Pulau Tikus will be opening another Family Mart outlet, however there is no official announcement from Family Mart yet.

If you are new to Family Mart, here are the best pick of foods you have to try:

Hamisu Penang Seafood Restaurant Review 🦀🦐🦞🦑

The famous places for seafood in Penang is usually located around Batu Maung or Teluk Kumbar where the fisherman village located. If you don’t feel like driving so far, here’s a place for seafood located just right on the outskirts of Georgetown.

Location: 401, Jalan Dato Keramat, George Town, Penang

Business hour: Opens daily, 5:00PM - 3:00AM

Price range: Price varies 

Halal: No

Not Worth It: Kopi Hutan @ Penang Hill

I’ve intended to go to Kopi Hutan since I saw it online 2 years ago, but I didn’t have the chance to do so because I wasn’t staying in Penang (going up to Penang Hill might take the whole day). Now that I'm living here, it is convenient for me to visit Penang Hill. However, the place suddenly went viral and the owner didn't prepare for the crowd. Adding on to the stress, everyone is expected to adhere to the Covid-19 protocol, but some people had to make things complicated such as not lining up, do not follow social distancing, and not wearing masks. That is why it was quite an unpleasant experience. 

Location: Monkey Cup Farm, Summit Road, 11500, Penang Hill

Business hour: Open daily 9:00AM - 6:00PM

Price range: RM8-RM20

Halal: Yes

Penang Vegan Cafe: Wholey Wonder @ Hin Bus Depot

Wholey Wonder gives me a vibe of Tasmania’s vegan cafe which is rustic and hippies. Albeit the cafe is very casual and laidback, the food quality is uncompromising. The cafe is managed by the same group as Pinxin Vegan Cuisine, they use top quality ingredients and the food is made from passionate vegan chefs. While Pinxin targets family and skewed towards Asian cuisine, Wholey Wonder takes another approach where it is more Westernized. 

This cafe takes a holistic approach to promote a healthy lifestyle. Not only it is a vegan cafe, but the second floor is also a yoga studio. The less-active me is here for the food only. But if you are interested, the yoga studio is open for everyone. Do ask the waiter for more info on the yoga schedule. 

Penang Vegan Restaurant: PinXin Vegan Cuisine Review

The first thing I did when I came back to Penang is to look for a nice vegetarian/vegan restaurant. While in Melaka, I have a list of my favourite vegan/vegetarian restaurants, now I have to discover more vegetarian restaurants in Penang as I expand my territory. The first restaurant I've been to is PinXin. This is a vegan restaurant, so it is suitable for vegetarians as well.

Adopt a Butterfly to help the Melaka Butterfly Farm Alive

The Melaka Butterfly & Reptile Sanctuary (MBRS) needs your help. As the Movement Control Order preventing visitors to visit the farm, they are lacking of funds to run the sanctuary. In order to keep their operation cost low, the staff had to throw away healthy pupa, and here's how you can help.

Menstrual / Period Cup Honest Review

The menstrual cup is a popular item from the zero-waste department lately. When this product was introduced two years back, it was completely mindblown. At that time I had an online store that sold zero-waste products and the menstrual cup was one that keeps selling out. 

Before I begin the review, let's use the nomenclature "orchid" to represent our female body part.

Day 29 LOCKDOWN: Phase 3

DAY 18 LOCKDOWN: Instant Dim Sum Review - Ocean Planet

Today I want to do a food review. This instant dim sum is EXTREMELY GOOD!!! It tastes exactly like the one from the restaurant. No kidding.

DAY 15 & 16 LOCKDOWN: Where to get your general information about Covid-19

I notice that a lot of people still unsure what to do if you suspect that you catch the virus. First of all, you need to call the hotline. Please save these phone numbers in your contacts just in case.

DAY 14 LOCKDOWN: Phase 1 Completed

When I started this daily account of my #Covid19Stories, I assumed the lockdown was going to last for 14 days. Now that everyday is a repetitive routine, I don't know what else to write about. Should I write recipes? Or my journal stuff?

DAY 13 LOCKDOWN: DIY Vision Board

I can't stop worrying about my job. Today is the salary pay-out day. I kinda feel like I don't deserve the full salary because my productivity is really low. I feel like I didn't give my 100%, this is why I really hate working-from-home at such an early stage of my job in the new place. I feel like I still need a lot of training in terms of system, but at the same time, I can't complain because I'm experienced. WFH isn't the ideal situation for me at the moment, yet it is pointless for me to return to work since my colleagues are all WFH. Besides, I'm not in the best position while the economy is going down. My job security is hanging by a thread.

DAY 12 LOCKDOWN: When the rich people whines

I have nothing much to update. I guess "nothing much" is being part of my daily life for now. I watched the Itaewon Class till 5am the night before and woke up at 12pm. I completely ditch my responsibility to feed my family, and everyone had to eat biscuits for breakfast. LOL! I begin to miss my single life. Having people relying on you sucks.

DAY 11 LOCKDOWN: Let's Talk About Food

In Malaysia, we're left with 2.5 months of rice. That is not enough for all because the rich will hoard the supply and some sellers might hide it to sell when supply is low. This is a serious issue. We've not touched on the supplies of vegetables and meat. In other words, we're f**ked.

DAY 10 LOCKDOWN: I Begin to Miss Nature

• Me: Baby papa, after all these ordeal, let's go to Monkey Beach 
• Baby papa: After all these, I want to go somewhere further.
• Me: Where???
• Baby papa: Cameron Highlands.
• Me: I thought you're going to say Switzerland. 
• Baby papa: Times like this, we have to contribute to our own country's economy. So Cameron Highlands!

DAY 9 LOCKDOWN: Not a Good Time to be Sick

I missed one day of the entry, but here's to make up where I have left out.

DAY 8 LOCKDOWN: Extension & Books to Read

The Movement Control Order is extended till 14th April 2020. That is another 19 days. The past 8 days were hard enough. I'm not sure if there's enough food for everyone, because the rich will be stocking up without hesitation.

DAY 7 LOCKDOWN: Learning Korean

A few people asking me about my online Korean class that I'm taking. It is absolutely free! You can learn it too and since you probably have the time at home.

DAY 6 LOCKDOWN: Netflix Shows to Watch

Today I'm physically exhausted from cooking daily. Cooking in my house isn't like how I used to do when living alone. My grandma has a long list of SOP to follow, that exhaust me. For example, every time I cook, I have to clean the entire kitchen. It doesn't help when I still have to work from home for 8 hours, then cook 2 meals daily. I can't stand another day of the lockdown.

DAY 5 LOCKDOWN: Only Head of the Family Allowed to Leave the House

Random photo of the ocean because last night I dreamt I went to an island resort. Hence a throwback photo from my Redang trip.

DAY 4 LOCKDOWN: Grocery Situation

I went out for grocery shopping today, it's madness out there. Initially, I went to AEON because I still have lots of AEON vouchers to spend. But the parking was limited and there is a sea of human at the entrance waiting for their turn to go in. I think they limit the number of pax to enter, but I'm not sure because I didn't get down from the car to check out. I went to Giant instead.

DAY 3 LOCKDOWN: I Went Out

It's not something to be proud of because I could get caught by the authorities. It was a short drive within an 800m radius from my house. I was trying to find a cake to cheer myself.

DAY 2 LOCKDOWN: Fear of Food Scarcity

Random thoughts today involve a lot of food supply in my house. I begin to think that I don't have enough of the food supply to last for 14 days. What trigger this was, I spoiled an egg when boiling it. There was a hairline crack and I didn't monitor the pot. So it was completely a mess, I had to throw the egg away. In normal circumstances, I will just throw the egg away without any remorse. But today, I was afraid I don't have enough to feed the family.

DAY 1 LOCKDOWN: Battling with Working-from-Home Environment

First thing first, I know you're going to say Malaysia has no lockdown. I personally think communication is clearer when we label it as "lockdown" instead of Restriction of Movement (ROM). When mentioned ROM, people take things lightly, thinking it is ok to loiter around, so I much prefer the term lockdown.

I decided to keep an account of what is happening for the next 14 days (ROM starts from 18-31 March 2020, may be extended if the number of infection increases). I think I may never live another life to experience this happening again, so I want to be able to look back on what happened.

Panic Shopping: 50 Things To-Buy in case of Lockdown

It seems like the coravirus activity isn't slowing down anytime. In Malaysia, we see a spike of people infected on daily basis. At the moment, we still have the luxury of partial lockdown, which means, we still can go out to shop for essential items.

Here are some items that I've narrowed down in case of full lockdown instruction. Better be prepared than be sorry right? Scroll to the bottom for a downloadable list where you can copy & paste into your phone Notes.

DIY Money Bowl to Attract Wealth

Most of us have different rituals when it comes to manifesting for wealth. Mine is pretty simple. I keep a money bowl. It started off as a catch-all bowl for my loose change. After a while, I realize that having the habit of gathering money in a bowl is actually a practice that many people did to attract wealth.

4 Vegetarian Restaurants in Melaka to try

Last October, I started to adopt a vegetarian lifestyle. I must admit, that didn't stick for long. But I discovered the pescatarian diet (which means I don't eat meat such as chicken, beef, pork, lamb, etc). Most of my diet consists of vegetables and fish. The vegetable is at the base of my food pyramid and fish would be on the tip of the pyramid.

I didn't have any problem eating out because of the fish diet gives me plenty of choices on the menu. Also, vegetarian restaurants now are more sophisticated. That leaves me a lot of options when dining out. Here are the few vegetarian restaurants that I frequently visit when in Melaka:

NETFLIX To-Watch February 2020

The entire January I was bingeing on Netflix back to back. Mainly because I took a long leave for Chinese New Year and there's nothing much to do at home. Here are some of the shows that I think you might like to explore this month.

Penang Avatar Secret Garden is Out of This World

Did you watch the Avatar movie from a few years back? If you do, you’ll know how mesmerizing the secret garden is. Strings of lights hanging down from the tree, flowers that light up when you touch it, etc. all these create a surreal and out-of-the-world presence. You can experience the Avatar Secret Garden right here in Penang. And the best thing is, it is completely free! Read more to find out how to get there.

NETFLIX To-Watch January 2020

Lately I have been bingeing on Netflix a lot. And if you do follow me on my Instagram, I always post up IG story on #NetflixMustWatch where I recommend shows that are worth your time. I figure out that I should put up my recommendations here on my blog since I've been spending so much time watching it. I will be sharing 10 shows every month on this blog, so make sure to come back here often. I have created a category here under Netflix which you can bookmark. I hope you'll find this useful. Also, if you have any shows that you're loving currently, do return the favour by commenting below so that I can check it out as well.