Author: tvsmith

Calamansi Juice With Sour Plums

The refreshing drink or local Chinese cocktail at Chinese coffee shops is known as Kat Chye Shin Mui. It is yellow lime or Calamondin with preserved sour and salty plums. I found it a bit too salty and ordered another without the sugar and salt coated dried plums. There was only one solitary dried plum in the drink, anyway.

The preserved plums are usually imported from China are like a magic elixir for people who feel car sickness or suffer from motion sickness. I remember going up Cameron Highlands when I was a kid and every passenger in the bus was clinging to a packet of sour plums or were chewing it to combat the ill effects of the dizzying, winding roads.

I dont suffer from motion sickness normally, so I want to know if the effectiveness of the home remedy is true. Anyone?

The very nice Indonesian waitress at 168 Restaurant tried to discourage me from opting out of the plums as she claimed the drink wont be as tasty without the plums. The new drink came. It was still too salty. Maybe they add salt to the lime juice to contain the strong tangy taste, I suspect.

Chilled with plenty of ice cubes, it is a refreshing drink on a hot day with or without shin mui. In Malay restaurants the drink is known as asam boi with limau kasturi.

#restaurant168 #pudu #katchaishinmui #colddrink #calamansi #asamboi #streetphotography #cocktail #limaukasturi

Waiter, There’s A Beauty Queen Mussel In My Pineapple

Waiter, There’s A Beauty Queen Mussel In My Pineapple.

Was quite pleased with my own order of Pineapple Fried Rice. The dish is normally fried rice served in a hollowed out pineapple half. This is the Piña Colada of the local food world. Normally some pineapple pieces are fried together for aroma and authenticity.

Didn’t expect it to be Seafood Pineapple Fried Rice that included a mussel perched on a pedestal, like some freshly crowned and seated beauty pageant winner, some prawns and slices of white fish. I scrapped out some pineapple flesh and it tasted juicy and good too.

Sorry, I didn’t include the prices earlier. PuiSee Chu generously paid, snatched and hid the bill from me. Got a scolding from her when I requested to see the prices on Messenger just now. There is a terrorist streak in every woman, no matter how angelic.

She relented and I found out this wonderful dish is RM 15 94 before tax. Will update the prices of the other two dishes from U-Village Restaurant later. The popular restaurant was already full before lunch time proper.

#chinesefood #friedrice #pineapple #hongkong #sungaiwangplaza #lunch #foodphotography #uvillage

Salted Mustard Greens Soup

Pui See made a good menu decision with Hum Choy (Cantonese) or Kiam Chye (Hokkien) Soup with Tofu (咸菜豆腐汤). Can’t remember what it is labelled as in the menu. The main vegetable is salted, preserved, or pickled mustard greens.

It is a traditional Chinese soup and an assortment of ingredients were boiled together. It included pork, tomatoes, carrots and onions. The tomatoes enhance the already sourish taste. T̶h̶e̶ ̶d̶i̶s̶h̶ ̶c̶o̶m̶e̶s̶ ̶w̶i̶t̶h̶ ̶p̶l̶a̶i̶n̶ ̶r̶i̶c̶e̶.̶

I’ll let PuiSee Chu describe the content if she is willing and can recall. I only took a sip. It is a childhood favourite of mine. Surprised and happy to see this in the quick bite U-Village Restaurant. Nevertheless, this is the quick boil type and not the normal home slow cooked version.

#chinesefood #kiamchye #vege #tradition #soup #hongkong #uvillage #sungaiwangplaza #lunch #tofu #foodphotography

Water Dogs

Remember I mentioned that economical spectacle shop in Sungai Wang? I took my mom there today with the help of the ever kind and helpful PuiSee Chu (FB). She took me there on my first visit. Not only is Pui See so patient and understanding, she is also very good with elderly people such as my mom. Me and mom were so touched. We felt so blessed and thankful to have such a caring and genuine friend.

While waiting for the spectacles to be made, we went for a quick lunch. It was at the U-Village Restaurant (FB) – Hong Kong Restaurant. Ordered my mom a bowl of ‘sui kow’ dumplings soup with wonton noodles. Sui Kow is literally translated as ‘water dog’ from Cantonese. I don’t know why.

Even though the ‘sui kow’ were impressively big and luscious, my mom being the typical Chinese, complained there was no pork in it. LOL. Only three prawns (shrimps) in each of the three dumplings. Me and Pu See had better luck with what we ordered though. Coming up next.

#chinesefood #dumpling #suikow #hongkong #sungaiwangplaza #lunch #noodles #foodphotography #uvillage

The Gold Coast Model

My former colleague and long time friend, the statuesque Simp Lee sent me a bunch of pics she took at the Avani Goldcoast Sepang, where she recently stayed and was a happy camper. Thank you, Simp. She’s regularly seen in television commercials, is also a model, a yogi, homemaker, chef and was the beautiful Mrs Asia Supreme Earth 2015. As I discussed with Penang advertising legend Kenny Song many years ago, the water on the West coast of peninsular Malaysia, be it Penang, Pangkor or Langkawi, is rarely cobalt blue unlike the oceans of the east coast islands and in Borneo. The resort provides electric golf carts to transport guests and luggage to the far flung chalets. The palm shaped and branched out chalets of the Avani Sepang Goldcoast Resort was featured and can also be booked through here: http://www.mycen.my/avani-sepang-goldcoast-resort/ All pics here copyright and owned by Simp Lee. Please do not use without permission. #baganlallang #chalets #goldcoast #selangor #seaside #model #avanisepang #nature #travel #resort #holiday #goldcoast #chalets #avanisepanggoldcoastresort #sea #model