The Most Hit in Town... Penang White Curry Noodle

If you're reading the Newspaper or following the Facebook, you must have noticed and been updated with the most hit topic in town - MyKuali Penang White Curry Noodle槟城白咖哩面. Turning the famous hawker style white curry noodle into the packet of instant noodle, the family intends to bring convenience to the citizens whereby this famous dish is achievable in minutes of time. The business has of course been speculated for $$$... 5 packets of noodle that are sold at RM 5.60, can go as high as RM 12++ at the Southern Peninsular of M'sia!

How to prepare a bowl of MyKuali Penang White Curry Noodle? Firstly, cook the noodle in the boiling water for about 3 minutes. Then, adding in the seasoning powder, non-dairy creamer and the chili paste that is made of natural ingredients. The strong smell of the prawn is wandering in air while the soup is boiling. The curry soup is spicy and there seems to be a slight taste of cockle? Comparing this instant packet to the white curry noodle by the hawker stall, I'm a little amazed by the authenticity that they're really almost the "same". Just topping up with the Prawn虾, Tau Fu Pok豆腐卜, Long Beans长豆 and it'll be then a bowl of home-cooked curry noodle.

I'm not really fancy over white curry noodle but I agree that this is definitely convenient for people whom wants to prepare a bowl of curry noodle in the simplest and fastest way. Anyway, I still don't encourage too much instant noodle due to the health concern.

Paella... the Homemade

I'm definitely the fans for Paella, the Spanish rice dish that consists of seafood and meat. I've decided to present the 1st article of year 2014, to my BFF (Best Female Friend) that have been the Chef and as well have prepared the ingredients to succeed the cooking event of Paella. I've tasted the best or the most delicious Paella in Barcelona, that my saliva is dripping whenever I miss it. I think that it's the feeling of being challenged, Phui Yee has decided to cook us a meal of Paella. Am I right, Phui Yee? Su and Elaine are buying the ingredients, this is indeed the easiest function for me that I just do nothing...

A lot of ingredients are to be prepared such as prawn, squid, chicken, sausage, tomato paste and they're all fried separately in advanced. Besides that, raw vegetable like garlic, onion, capsicum, parsley are chopped into tiny pieces and they're put aside for later use. Heating up the oil in the pan in order to start cooking, the garlic and onion are firstly sauteed to golden brownish colour. The nice aroma of the fried garlic and onion is very appealing, this indicates the correct time to add the capsicum and the tomato paste. Then, the rice is poured into the mixture and water is added as well. The correct step here is to allow the rice to "soak" inside the sauce before adding the water. Chicken Stock will be the preferred option to enhance the deliciousness of Paella. Alternatively, Phui Yee has used the Maggi Chicken Essence due to time limitation. After adding the chicken and sausage, the pan is covered that the rice is simmered in the sauce with slow fire. You can take the idea of using the Aluminium Foil, if you're shortage of lid cover! Once the rice is cooked or the liquid has dried up, the seafood is added and finally the peas. Being explained by Phui Yee, the peas are not to be boiled for too long in order to maintain the greenish colour. Parsley is the final garnishing to enhance both the aroma and taste of the Paella. The best part is the crusty later of rice that is sticking on the pan! I'm totally amazed by Phui Yee's cooking skill. It's just-to-taste and with the freshness of the ingredients, I'm completely satisfied with the deliciousness of the Paella.

Too many prawns and we've decided to do a "frying with butter". The freshness of the prawn with the saltiness of the butter, we're happy with the taste of this home-cooked dish as well.

 

My greediness, I wish to try the Paella again! And this time, I'll ask for a bigger portion...

Vietnamese Coffee

I find that Vietnamese Coffee is a specialty for the way that it's prepared. The grounded coffee bean is poured into the metal or ceramic "filter", the hot water that is vaporised will then drip down as coffee to the cup. Whoever that has visited Vietnam, will always bring home this specially made container as a souvenir.

I need coffee to start my day, thus I've suggested to try out the Trung Nguyen Coffee or the so-called "The No.1 Coffee" that is observed with tonnes of franchise in Ho Chi Minh. We've decided to try the Drip Vietnamese Coffee that can be either hot or cold or being served black or with condensed milk. We're reminded to wait for about 3 minutes in order to let the coffee to drip down completely and only then we're allowed to pour the black coffee into the glass. I don't really like Vietnamese Coffee as it's actually quite sweet and I'm especially not fancy with the weird aroma. Comparing to the Weasel Coffee that is claimed as Coffee of The World, the drip Vietnamese Coffee costs only half of the price. This is my 1st time to try the expensive coffee, it's indeed thicker and smoother yet still with a sweet ending that I think it's from the sugar that has been used to fry the coffee beans. Luckily that the Weasel Coffee is still better or tastier than a normal drip coffee due to the bitterness. Patience is very important in enjoying a nice cup of Weasel Coffee. The dripping process is taking a long time due to the fine texture of the grounded beans.

Passion Fruit has been a very refreshing drink due to the sourness. Surprisingly that Vietnamese prefers sweetness? My glass of fruit juice is indeed too sweet.

It's a nice experience for me to know about the Vietnamese Coffee. Anyway, it's a torture for myself without a proper coffee that I can really enjoy.

The Tradition of Baguette at Pat' a Chou

Being influenced by the French colonisation, the Vietnamese has indeed developed themselves as good chefs in baking delicious Baguette. Baguette is seen and sold everywhere in Ho Chi Minh, starting from the roadside stalls to the big bakeries. Looking for the most authentic and traditional bakery and we've decided for Pat' a Chou that is located at Hai Bà Trưng.

It's a normal bakery that is selling bread, pastry, cake and cookies; it's also a cafe that is serving sandwich and coffee. They've a wide selection of sandwiches and cakes that we've to take some minutes to decide, "which?" and we've finally chosen the Sandwich au poulet rôti. It's a Baguette or the long-shaped bun that is filled with shredded chicken, cucumber and lettuce. The Baguette is very crispy at the outer skin yet it's still soft at the inner. Being coupled with the shredded chicken that is salty from the soy sauce, I think that this is is the most special sandwich that I've ever tried. Just feeling a little weird about the combination of the Western Baguette with the Oriental Chicken, it's delicious anyway! Preferably that the filling is more.

Our greediness for sweetness, we've taken the Feuilleté À La Crème. The layers of crispy and fluffy pastry skin being sandwiched with the compact butter cream, this is the most marvellous dessert that I've ever tasted in my life. The chilled butter is smooth and thick in taste, coming with a nice aroma yet it's not filling at all.

We've enjoyed our meal at Pat' a Chou despite the bad coffee in Vietnam. I'm just a little regret that I've not takeaway the dessert back to Penang.

Pho, A Must to Try!

Vietnamese noodle is a must-try specialty that is not to be missed, whenever you're visiting Vietnam. Pho is alike our flat rice noodle in Malaysia but it's apparently softer. It's regularly taken as breakfast, lunch or dinner in Vietnam. For its popularity, this dish is available everywhere and even being franchised at Pho24.

We've ordered the Chả Giò or the Fried Spring Rolls as our starter. The spring roll is made of meat and the size is just nice to be fitted into the mouth. It's quite tasty except that I find the skin is slightly too thick that it's chewy.

As May Fong doesn't take beef, thus we've decided to share the Phở Gà or Pho with Chicken Fillet. Pho is  indeed a healthy dish whereby it's served together with a big plate of basil leaves, bean sprouts, lime and chili. The vegetable is then to be poured on top of the bowl of noodle soup that has been garnished with slices of steamed chicken and spring onions. I like the addition of basil, lime and chili that have not only added a nice aroma but the sourness and spiciness have as well enhanced the refreshing taste of the soup that it's very appetising. It's just a little disappointment that the chicken meat is slightly hard and dry.

Triggered by the deliciousness of the Phở Gà at Pho24, I'm eagerly to try out the Pho for once again before departing back to M'sia. My breakfast in Grand Hotel Saigon, I've decided to take the Phở Bò or the Beef Noodle. The soup tastes very refreshing from the natural sweetness of the cow bone with onion. The soup is not oily despite its strong taste and it as well doesn't contain any unease beefy smell. Being completed with the juicy and tender beef slices, I've definitely fell in love with my bowl of soup. The only disappointment is the rice noodle that is not so succulent if comparing to Pho24.

I've finally achieved my mission to try out the Phở Bò in Vietnam. The biggest problem of mine now, shall I fly to Ho Chi Minh again for the dish?