La La La...

It has been a while since I've put up anything here... thanks to the hectic production line I work in, that has recently left me rather tired and out of sorts.

Today, however, being my long awaited off day, I had the luxury of having some peace and quiet... to just be. A nice change from having to speak incessantly to some 60 - 90 people a day, depending how good or bad the day is. One thing for sure, my vocal cords are thankful... and my blood pressure is doing well :o) Hence the inspiration to write an entry in this rather neglected blog. Besides, I was being introduced to a new makan place today... a cuisine I had never heard of - Heng Hwa - so how can i not write right?

God somehow always had good timing, and the off day coincided with Line's very short visit back to SG. Hence her mum had invited me for lunch at one of her favourite hang outs - Xing Hua Family Restaurant, at Boon Keng. Camouflaged in a row of "void deck shops", this gem of a place served really tasty food!

Auntie, being the regular customer there, quickly rattled off the dishes she so decided for the day - Prawn in herbal broth (served in a bamboo) - interesting!, Deep fried Tenggiri fish - so crispy youcan eat the bones, Stir fried deer meat - nice and tender, Sambal kangkong - quite the usual, La la in spicy sauce - OOOH!, and Fried yam. Though all the dishes were great, 2 made deeper impressions - the La la and the yam.

The spicy sauce of the La la was one of those that was tasty, spicy, but not oily. It infused the fresh little clams such that each mouthful was a flavour burst. Not to mention that mixing the sauce with rice was heavenly! In fact, this dish was so good, we had a second order!

The fried yam was a simple dish. It was, exactly as it's called - Fried yam. Nothing else in the dish, but yam that was fried - not deep fried with a batter, but fried with a caramelised exterior, shelling a soft, moist interior. YUM! (no pun intended :o))

There are still many dishes there that are yet to be tried, so I'll definitely be going back!

Xing Hua Family Restaurant

Block 101 Towner Road

Famous Terengganu Bread

It’s a long time since the last entry. I hardly get to go out for meals. Even the times when I do go out, I feel unsafe to bring a camera out. Sometimes, I’m also a little shy to take pictures in front of the sisters and friends.

So… this is Terengganu signature bread. Well, it’s actually a round bread with many small buns joined together. And individual buns have fillings. There’s kaya, margarine, etc… but I’m not sure if mixed fillings are available. This particular one has margarine in every little bun.

Now, let me explain why it’s not round in the picture. I only took the shot when all the sisters are resting in their rooms. So, it’s what left after lunch.

It taste really good. Although it’s normal bread, the unique shape and the way we eat it (bun by bun) makes a whole lot of difference.

So, if you come to Terengganu, don’t forget to buy some of me… ha ha….

Food for my spirit

I'm 3 days into my new assignment, and "overwhelmed" is it, in a nutshell. Overwhelmed from the shear speed I need to have, which leaves me hardly any time to think... Overwhelmed from the realisation that I do need to know just about everything, cos unlike working in specialty units, anything under the sun can turn up in my room!

However, overwhelmed me was thankful that I managed to end the day with Mass on my 1st day... a luxury I haven't had all last year. And it did make a difference... it was a settling time... as if the "oh my gosh, what a day!" exhausted me turned up at His table and was fed... It was also a time to come before the Divine Physician to ask that whatever work i do, that it is Him doing through me... a reminder that in such a rushed setting, I need Him to watch my back. And with this current assignment, i can look forward to more of such days of reclining at His table at the end of the day!

Today, I also saw another need for this food... the need know how to do the right things... not just the life-saving or disease-curing decisions, that are more or less universal... but harder than that, those surrounding what our faith teaches us. What do i do when a 45 yr old woman turns up wanting a pregnancy test, and asking what i can give to cause a "natural miscarriage"? Evidence tells us that she's at a high risk of foetal abnormalities like Down's, and many other complications herself, so logically it's the way to go. But faith tells me that if it was a positive, that is God's life giving love created in flesh! It makes sense to me... but how do i make that sense to others? Do i then send her next door to another colleague who has no such dilemma? Especially when i don't have the luxury of time for a long counselling session? At that point I didn't know what i would have done, but thankfully, being towards the end of the day, the lab had closed so I had to ask her to return tmr for the test. Though i'm hoping she might not turn up in my room again, i have to be prepared. I don't know... I've just been feeling rather unsettled since then... I just hope that when the time comes, I may know what to do.

The crab solution

Here's part 2 of food from my trip... this time, instead of sitting by the fireplace and getting comfort away from the cold while writing, I feel like I'm, IN the fireplace. It's been insanely hot, and I can't seem to get used to it!

Anyways, this is about Maryland's famous - Crab cakes. I had never known that, until I went to Baltimore, and my dear friend (knowing what a foodie I am) had put that on her list of "Karen's must-eats". If you're thinking fish cakes like the ones in ta-mee, throw that image out. Throw even Thai prawn cakes out.. This is real crab (and nothing but chunks of it!) nicely seasoned and rolled up into a ball, then lightly fried. Awesome!



For someone who likes crabs, but not enough to want to fight with it's shell to get the flesh out, this is the perfect solution! And i thoroughly enjoyed it :o)


Along with crab cakes, we ordered a pasta to share - Seafood cajun fettucine. Thankfully we stopped at 2, cos the pasta was a huge portion, with a generous lot of prawns and scallops! We were stuffed.


Service was great at this place too, so if you ever head to Baltimore, pop in to Obrycki's and try them. You'll love them!

Food from the other side of the world... part 1

Thanks to the miserably cold and rainy weather outside, I'm indoors today, and am enjoying the warmth of the fireplace and having some time to be still and just lounge around.. and write an entry... all the way from the other side of the world, abt good food I've found here :o)

This one will be about Chicken Rico... the best (i mean BEST!) chicken I've had... it's a Peruvian charcoal broiled chicken I had in Baltimore... after my longtime good friend raved about it, and took me there :o) The shop was found in one of the dodgey parts of town, so we drove there, found a parking across the road and ran into the shop. The slightly dingey-looking shop run by Latinos greeted us with a yummy fragrance that got me hungry. Standing in line waiting to be served was rather torturous, since they took so long, and the charcoal grilled chicken, freshly out of the rotisserie, was just staring at us! *drool*

When we finally got our "ta pau" order packed, we ran back out and drove home, to enjoy our dinner in the comforts of her studio apartment.

Ok, I realise that the photo doesn't do Chicken Rico justice... the skin was so flavourful (who cares abt the fat at this point) and the flavour of the spices and who knows whatever they put inside penetrated the whole chunck of meat. Well roasted on the outside and juicy in the inside, it deserved 6 out of 5 stars! For sides, we had (1) the rice (which was just alright, until we mixed in the extra juices (and oil) from the chicken), and (2) platains, which I had for the first time in my life... these are bananas of a certain kind that is roasted til they're brown on the outside. Kinda like the mexican counterpart of goreng pisang. They were so good, but also super filling! :p

We loved it so much that we thought of forgetting about our jobs and opening an outlet back home! :o)

Local delights.... Kuala Trengganu

Writing all the way from Kuala Trengganu, Malaysia. Have been here almost a week. I don’t really know much about the place, but life is definitely slower here. Today, we had a half day recollection. So, Sr. Mary Peter Ng went out to buy some food for lunch. She bought some local delights. My first reaction when I open…errr….. purple rice!!! Weird!! But had to change the image of it cause it’s still food…ermm… it’s interesting.

It tasted really good. It's a bit spicy too. Over here, the locals eats them for breakfast too, even the children, that’s what they bring to school for snack time.

I was so eager to share with all of you… so I bravely ask the sisters if I can take a photo to share with my friends…. Yeah!!! They were all so excited to say, of course!!!

So here’s my entry…

The one in trianglar shape is called Nasi Kelabu (2 ringgit)

The one in the box is also called Nasi Kelabu with meat (3 ringgit)

The one in cone shape is called Nasi Dagang (1 ringgit)

The one in the leave is called Tapai (1 ringgit for 2 bundles)

Ha ha… at least I managed to name them all… of course asking the sisters and writing it down. 

Comfort food

Just as Line thot that last nite was the last makan we were gonna have before she left for KT, I popped up from the back of the van to surprise her today. Abt a week ago, I had (after much prayer!) managed to swap out of a work shift so that I could be around with her and send her off. And I am thankful that God allowed this to work out. He knows best, I suppose!

Seeing her lighten up a little after a relaxing foot massage and some bak kut teh comforted me... that at least she was a little better than she was earlier in the morning, when i sensed her being rather out of sorts, to say the very least. Well, tho it's not as simple as for all that to go away after a massage and a bowl of bak kut teh, it did provide some respite. That, i suppose, was enough. After all, sometimes, a breather gives us that bit more of strength to keep going.

Anyways, here's the bak kut teh that we thot was one of the better ones we've had... peppery enough... as Dom's exclaimation on his first sip puts it "Wah! pepper free one ah?!"

Song Fa Bak Kut Teh
Rochor Centre