Ginataang Mais - Sweet Corn with Coconut Milk Recipe

Wedding Dinner of Kean Low and Annie Tay @ Palace of The Golden Horses.

Wedding dinner of my nephew Kean Low and Annie Tay (both childhood sweethearts) @ The Royal Ballroom@ Palace of The Golden Horses, Seri Kembangan.


A truly grand occasion-early guests were served drinks by friendly waitresses and nimble on tit bits that were placed on tables around the lobby area.


As we were early, we watched from afar, invited guests streaming in (a mix of young and old) each and everyone were adorned in their fashionable and flashy colorful attires with glittering bling !

The ballroom was huge , high ceiling, spacious and grand.

Before the dinner, there were the usual small chat, photo sessions and greetings with relatives and friends.

Family and relatives photo-taken by Chee Yi Low..
Happiness Hot & Cold Appetizer Combinations - a good starter to the main meal-not the run of the mill type - simple, small bite size pieces, tasty and easy to eat. Braised Winter melon Soup with Crab meat and shark's fin-more shredded winter melon than crab meat/shark's fin combined -it's good to know that hotels and restaurants are phasing out shark's fin from their menu- was a bit too starchy. Roasted Sesame chicken with Cucumber Plum Sauce-well marinated-not too salty-it would have been tastier if it was a free- range chicken.. Deep fried Grouper fish in Ginger/Tomato sauce-over fried rendering the flesh to be too dry-the sauce was a good accompaniment-garnished with coriander leaves and julienne carrot.. Steamed Chinese long cabbage with dried Scallops - the cabbage was soft and melt in the mouth with every bite -good scallop filled broth to give the right flavor to the dish. Fried rice with roasted Duck meat and Mushrooms-grainy rice - too little duck meat to complement the dish-luckily it was fragrant-topped with finely chopped spring onion/red chillies. Chilled Fruits Cocktail with Sago Pearls-Soy was of the right density and not too overly sweet.. Sweet pastries-shaped like fruits with sweet bean paste fillings-a delight for those with sweet tooth.

Location: The Royal Ballroom,
Palace of the Golden Horses,
Jalan Kuda Emas, Mines Resort City,
Seri Kembangan, Selangor.
Tel:603-8946-4888.

Set Lunch @ Ishin Japanese Dining Restaurant, Old Klang Road, KL

I have been told that Ishin serves very affordable set lunches. We finally made our way there last month with Mei Yee and Kenny for lunch. As soon as we were shown to our table, we were each given an iPad menu... yup, they've embraced technology and gone paperless here. Most of the items on the iPad menu has an accompanying photo too.. the problem with this was that most of it looked so enticing and made us want to order those dishes!

The interior

iPad menu!

It took us quite a while to flick through the menu, but since we were after an "affordable meal", we ended up ordering the set lunch which had the most attractive photo LOL! I forgot to take down the prices for the set lunch that we had, but I believe it was something like RM22++ per set. On top of the set, Hubby and I were feeling greedy and ordered some side dishes (add-ons). I had the chuka idako which was nice but a bit small in portion, but then again for RM4, one can't really complain. Hubby likes having chawanmushi with his Japanese food, so he ordered one of those.

Chuka idako (marinated baby octopus)

Chawanmushi

Each set came with an appetizer, on our visit we were served a cold potato salad. The set lunch also comes with miso soup (unless you order one of the cold noodle dishes), pickles, rice and fresh fruits.

Mei Yee had the shake (salmon) teriyaki set, and Hubby had the unagi set. We thought that Hubby's unagi was a little small (very different from the illustration on the iPad for sure!!). Kenny and I both went for the cold noodles set, which came with tempura. He had the Ten Zaru Soba while I had the Ten Cha Soba (flavoured with green tea powder).

Salmon teriyaki set

Unagi set

Ten Zaru Soba set

Ten Cha Soba Set

I really enjoyed the cold noodles, dipped into the cold tsuyu mixed with scallions and wasabi. It was so refreshing to eat this! The next time I visit another Japanese restaurant, I'm gonna order cold soba again.

A new favorite

Tempura

Since I can't eat kiwi, they kindly replaced it with dragon fruit.

Mei Yee, Baby Sumo and Kenny - a great afternoon catching up!

Verdict: Set lunches here are reasonably priced. May come back to try their a la carte offerings another time.

Opening times: Lunch (12.00-3.00pm), Dinner (6.00 - 10.30pm)

Service: Good.

Price: We paid about RM30 per person.

Location: Ishin Japanese Dining Restaurant,No. 202, Persiaran Klang,Batu 3 3/4,Off Jalan Kelang Lama,58000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Tel : +60 3 7980 8228

GPS Coordinates:3.103021, 101.677952

Of Strange Name & (Almost) Healthy Food @ Zhi Yin Yang Yan Restaurant, Bercham Bistari, Ipoh

Salted Egg Lotus Root (RM8/USD2.70) Coated with a batter thats rich with salted egg yolk, and curry leaves for that distinct, aromatic touch; the plate of humble lotus root (ling ngau) was transformed into something decadent worth ordering again and again .

Remember Steamhouse in Bercham? That restaurant specializing in healthy, steam cuisine has already expanded to a second branch in Ipoh. How wrong was I to grow a certain skepticism on the prospects of a restaurant preaching about nutritious food in Ipoh!

I mean, traditionally, GOOD food and HEALTHY cuisine do NOT go along fine in the same sentence. Right?

And then, Zhi Yin Yang Yan (ZYYY) came along late last year. Or maybe middle of last year for all I care, but I failed to see the future of another restaurant hailing the coming of an era of healthy eating and endless range of double-boiled soups.

Boy was I WRONG. Read on, and see why.

Before we start on the food, you must be thinking why the awkward name, or rather, ridiculously hard to memorize string of Chinese characters?

The phrase Zhi Yin Yang Yan actually translates to Chi Yam Yeong Ngan (in Cantonese) meaning to nourish/protect the body physically and mentally or something.

P/S : I do admit that Im not a very proud banana here.

Double-boiled Soup with Monkey Head Mushrooms (RM10/USD3.30) that came with red dates and sweet corn, and a plethora of other ingredients I shall deter myself from scrutinizing over the Roman-ized names.

Going through their menu, you will see the usual Chinese dishes that will not set this far apart from the average dai chow restaurants in your neighbourhood.

However, browse through their SOUP menu instead. But everythings in Chinese. Dont be ashamed to put those puppy eyes to good use and get help in translating the list of 10 or so soups and recommendations from the staff on which is good for what indication.

You know Chinese herbs and ingredients are combined into ensembles in a soup to nourish certain parts of the body, and nothings good enough for the entire physiology or anatomy of a glutton. I mean, human.

And so we ended up with an interesting soup of monkey head mushrooms thats a rarity in most restaurants; or dare I say the first time I am seeing this on the menu of a Chinese eatery that are not in the same league as the major diners like Kok Thai, Mun Choong or East Ocean.

Salt & Pepper Squid (RM12/USD4)

Superior Soy Sauce Pork Belly (RM8/USD2.70)

Steamed Pumpkin with Dried Shrimps (RM10/USD3.30)

The soup was a guilt-free, nutritious ignition to the feast thats waiting beyond. The second dish of Stir-Fried Sliced Pork Belly in Superior Soy Sauce arrived in tandem with the rice, and you WILL need copious amount of the carbs to down the saltiness immersed in the dish. Of course, when Superior Soy Sauce was mentioned, I was actually expecting them to go lighter on the taste, but this was a full blown assault to the palate. The Deep Fried Squid with Salt & Pepper too, was slightly saltier than desired, yet was a delightful crunch that we munched on without much guilt throughout the meal. The tiny bits of cili padi (bird eye chillies), shallots and scallions helped in lending this dish with a certain robust flavour.

The Steamed Pumpkin in Soy Sauce with Dried Shrimps set the tone right again, for a restaurant thats supposed to be branded as a healthier alternative to the others. The intrinsic sweetness of the squash was accentuated by the simple preparation step of slicing it up then steamed in a base of light soy sauce with fried shallots and dried shrimps, then garnished with chopped scallions.

The entire menu actually consisted of various interesting dishes; from various steamed fishes to chicken and pork dishes, as well as a myriad of vegetable dishes to complement the proteins. But do remember to order at least ONE soup to be shared or to yourself, for thats their main weapon in their artillery of signatures; some h! ealthier than the rest, while the others are merely sinful indulgences to tempt the devil in you.

I relented and had a whale of a time polishing off the salted egg yolk lotus root this time. But I shall be back for the other wholesome soups that had names longer than all the dishes combined. Seriously.

(P/s: It did help that the lady was a very accommodating person; going to the extend of explaining EACH and every one of the soups; names and benefits included)

ZHI YIN YANG YAN RESTAURANT
No 32, Bercham Bistari 1,
Medan Bercham Bistari,
31400 Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia
Tel NO : +605-546 6567
Business hours : Monday Sunday (11am 3pm, 5.30pm 10pm)
Closed on Wednesdays.
GPS Coordinates : 4.625212,101.117658
Directions : Opposite of Tesco Extra, and same row as 2 Plus 1 Steamboat and BBQ. In front of Giant Bercham, and very near to the worthy-of-a-visit Hong Xing Dim Sum Restaurant that I wrote about before.

Wine Cellar at Freixenet

Wine Cellar at Freixenet

Rather pleased with this photo; so chuffed in fact that rather than keeping it for a Sunday Wine Shot slot later in the year, as originally planned, Ive hastened its release to today. In the dim light of the Freixenet cellars it is even more remarkable I managed to capture something useable handheld.

It is simply a stylishly lit wine cellar at Freixenet, somewhere in the extensive brick lined depths under the winery. Looking through the passables, as opposed to the rejects, taken during our entertaining tour practically all are strong enough to stand alone in this weekly showcase. More to come then

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