381. A guess GIVEAWAY

Can you guess what Mak isah is doing?




If you do...write and comment ok, and join in the fun!


If you get it right, the FIRST one to get it right, you'll get a belated angpow giveaway!!

This giveaway is open to all Malaysians :)

HAPPY GUESSING!


p/s. Mak isah will be away to KK and will come back Thursday (3 Mar) . Will come back here then. I promise :)


Love,
Mak isah.


Cheerio.

380. Today's Simple Menu

This morning hubby woke me up at 6am to come brisk walked with him at the hill (opposite Taman Awam Miri). This is a spot for regular brisk walkers & joggers. And the only place which really worked on your heart because you will have to go uphill and downhill the hill.

Usually after brisk walked hubby will asked if I'd like to go breakfast with him somewhere. Today he said let's breakfast at home. I said okay.

By 9am breakfast was ready. Just a quick preparation of 'Telor Mata Lembu' over bread, some thinly sliced cucumber, some baked beans from the tin and later sprinkled some 'Kimball Cili Sauce' over it.

There! Does it look delicious? :p And Mak isah drank lots of hot light tea!



Actually while having breakfast and eating with hubby, Mak isah's mind was on the one whole chicken in the basin at the kitchen sink. Earlier this morning before going out I had taken the chicken (small ) from the freezer and soaked it in water so it will be easier to cut when I come back.

I know! I am going to cook ' Chicken Ketchup' :) The children prefer it with not too much soup so I cooked it quite dry.

My Chicken Ketchup




Preparation :-

1. I cut the chicken into medium pieces, washed clean and place them in a sieve to drip dry.

2. Ground 2 garlic, 1 small shallot & one and a half inch ginger.

3. In a pot saute the grounded ingredients no.2.

4. Add 1 teaspoon of Adabi 'Rempah Sup' and stir. Mak isah add this instead of the ordinary Rempah Tumis (buah pelaga, chengkih or kayu manis) because I found out this does not leave a taste of too much rempah in any dish.

5. When aromatic, add in the cut chicken.

6. Add 1 cup of water.

There, that's how dry it is, put just enough water to cook the chicken.


7. Add in 3 - 4 tablespoons of local Dark Soy Sauce.

8. Leave under moderate fire until cooked while stirring occasionally.

9. Add 3 tablespoons of any Tomato Sauce.

10. Stir well. Add 2 teaspoons of sugar.

11. Add salt and ajinomoto to taste.

12. Serve with hot rice and your other dishes.


Ha ha...Mak isah's other dishes were this 'Tumis Sayur Sawi with one Egg' ....





And...



a bit of 'Sambal Belacan' sprinkled with some lime juice :)




Alaa... eat with hot hot rice, tak sedar dah dua kali tambah! :p



Cheerio.

379. Seafood For Dinner

Remember Mak isah told you I will be having dinner with my 2 daughters last Friday? This post is about it, and much to Mak isah joy, hubby decided to join us for dinner too :)

So...there were 4 of us! And well I must say it was an evening of eating seafood, seafood only! I know most of you will say 'watch that cholesterol level'....but...just for this time okay?

Mak isah just lovessss... seafood! and the theme for dinner that evening was 'Eastern meets Westerns'. On one side there was Eastern food for example like 'Laksa Sarawak', 'Fried Noodles', 'Rice' & a lot of Eastern dishes and on the other side, especially near the poolside there was Western food like 'Grilled Lamb' & Grilled seafoods!


As always whenever having dinner, Mak isah started off with a plate of local fruits.


And at that dinner Mak isah went for the 'Grilled Lamb' & 'Grilled Chicken Wings'




And...

all the grilled seafood! Like...

Tiger Prawns


Lobsters



Just Prawns


Mussels


I ate all those grilled food with Black Pepper Sauce. Very nice.


Ahhh...for the first time Mak isah ate Osysters! Mentah lagi tu..! Have you ever tried it? I have, and they were delicious if taken the correct way...which means sprinkle some chopped garlic & ginger over it, sprinkle a dash of light soy sauce, place one small slice of cili padi (if you want it hot) and squeezed some lemon juice over it.

Take one in your left hand and with a fork take out the flesh of the osyster and place it in your mouth. Chew!


I enjoyed them and I lost count how many I ate LOL....


See the flesh? :)



Habis!! Mesti you all kata Mak isah kuat makan ha ha....err memang pun! :p



I also tried this 'Kerabu Glass Noodles'. Very nice. And very very hot! I think they add grounded cili padi in it.



Sliced Squid & Prawn dipped in flour and fried



During that dinner I broke my own rules, took 'Nescafe' instead of 'Tea' :p Too tempting!



Nescafe with these delicious butter biscuits, buns and butter! Yummy




Aya tried these cakes, Mak isah tak larat lagi :)








For the memory...

My 3rd daughter Aya & My youngest daughter Noormy



Hubby & Mak isah



The Melinau Terrace have just undergone a little renovation & re arrangement so the staff and management were anxious to know our feedback on the food and place.

Almost end of the dinner time, they gave our table some feedback forms to fill, which we were only too happy to oblige.



Our family still prefer to eat out at Parkcity Everly Hotel other than all the rest of the hotels in Miri. This hotel offer Eastern and Western Cuisine for buffet dinner every Fridays and Saturdays.

For those of you who would like to come and eat at this hotel it is located at :-

Jalan Temenggong Datuk Oyong Lawai, Miri
Phone : 085-418888 Ext. 8125
Fax : 085-419999


Cheerio.

378. Caught these views...

I was at the Outdoor Stadium one evening with cucu Alif & hubby. It was Alif's first outing to that place. Hubby always jog and exercised at that place whenever he could. I think I wrote one entry about it HERE.

Alif enjoyed being there and in the end he did walked around one round the Stadium ha ha....which leaves him sweating all over. Hish, his 'popo' also walked one round which was supposed to catch up with him not to run but walked! Otherwise he would have fell and hurt his knees.

And then he dragged me up the steps on to the top of the Stadium. He wanted to see what was on the top of the stairs as he caught sight one fellow walking up earlier on. So I had to follow what he wanted. Mind you, Mak isah knees not as strong as his small ones!

Reaching up on the top of the stairs, I didn't regret it, the view up there was spectacular.

Caught this view



Ha ha, Alif resting for a while when we were up to the top of the steps.



When we had come down half an hour later, I had to coaxed him to let us go home. I took this last picture while almost running after him telling him it was time to go home.

Caught that Sun sinking



Mak isah going out in an hour. Three of us (Mak isah and my 2 daughters, Aya & Noormy) going to Melinau Terrace at Parkcity Everly Hotel having dinner.

Kalau interesting, nanti Mak isah post kan ye?

Until then, here's Mak isah wishing EVERYONE a happy wonderful WEEKEND!

Love,
Mak isah.


Cheerio.

377. Still On...

Still on KELAPA SAWIT... do you know what is this?

This morning I didn't feel like eating fish or chicken or meat, so I biked (my Honda Motorbike) to our small Tamu to buy something to cook for today. My eyes caught sight of these...


Umbut Kelapa Sawit



So...apa lagi beli, balik rumah dan masak ' Lemak Umbut Kelapa Sawit' !



Lemak Umbut Kelapa Sawit




To Cook.... senang je... !

1. Slice the 'umbut' (umbut means the soft part) thinly, wash and drip dry them in a sieve.

2. Ground 1 big red chilli, 2 garlic, 2 shallots and half a tablespoon of belacan (shrimp paste).

3. Add in half a teaspoon of turmeric powder into no.2 and break 1 stalk of lemon grass.

4. Saute ingredients no.2 and no.3 in a little oil in a pot.

5. When aromatic, add in a glass of water and let boil for 2 minutes.

6. Add in the sliced umbut.

7. Pour some water same level as the umbut in the pot.

8. Mix 1 packet of 'Cocolin' powdered coconut with a glass of water.

9. Add into the umbut in the pot as well.

10. Let boiled and let the umbut cooked.

11. Add salt and ajinomoto to taste.

12. Serve with hot rice and some fried salted fish!


P/s. Umbut kelapa Sawit ni sangat lemak dan manis rasa nya.



Mak isah talked about 'Cendawan Kelapa Sawit' in my last post right?

Yesterday evening hubby brought home again some more of the 'Cendawan Kelapa Sawit' but of different shapes and they looked like this....


Ever seen or eat these too? :)

So yesterday evening as soon as hubby brought them, Mak isah immediately cooked them for dinner he he...





Ala..cook the same way like the 'Cendawan Kelapa Sawit' ok? Mak isah only add some more cili padi hijau (yang merah tak de stock) and,

Eat while still hot!


Mak isah wishes all my Chinese friends 'Happy Chap Goh Mei' !


Love,
Mak isah.


Cheerio.

376. Cendawan Kelapa Sawit

Pernah makan 'Cendawan Kelapa Sawit' ini? Rasa nya tidak? :)


Tumis Cendawan Kelapa Sawit



Hubby often brings home this mushrooms when he comes back from driving off stations. For him, off station means he drives up to Bakong, Niah, Bekenu, Kampung Iran or Selangau sending supply of fresh chickens for his Company.

Now these mushrooms can only be found around these areas. These that I cooked, he bought from the market in Bekenu. Mushrooms in Bahasa Melayu is 'Cendawan', whereas Mak isah and the locals here called them 'Kulat'.

Kulat-kulat ini diambil dari hasil komposit atau hampas kelapa sawit yang tidak digunakan. We have a lot of 'Kelapa Sawit Plantations' in those areas that I have mentioned above. So what the locals did was put together the hampas kelapa sawit yang telah dibuang & hasil komposit (wasteproducts) in one area, let it wet and covered with a plastic sheet. After 5 days, the plastic sheet was taken away and so to let the mushrooms to appear and grow.

The locals picked these mushrooms and sell them at the market with their other products like vegetables or local rice.

At first Mak isah don't know how to cook these mushroom in the best way. After a couple of trying, it's really very simple.

Cook it with hot cili padi and eat it as soon as it's cooked.

To Cook :-

1. Wash the mushrooms quickly and let it drip dry in a sieve.

2. Ground 3 - 4 hot cili padi, 2 garlic and 1 small shallot.

3. Saute ingredients no. 2 in hot cooking oil.

4. When aromatic, add in the mushrooms.

5. As soon as cooked, add salt & ajinomoto to taste.

Eat it hot with rice and other dishes.


Salam Maulidur Rasul.. buat semua muslimin dan muslimat dimana jua anda berada.



Cheerio.

375. Happy Saturday

Happy Saturday Everyone!

Today Mak Isah feels like going out to eat...


THIS!


Been meaning to eat 'Lazagna' at Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf at Bintang Mega Mall for the last 2 days, finally I made it today he he...

I ordered my favorite drink 'Iced Blended Double Chocolate', size small would be enough, mind the calories and yet today I don't want to mind :)


Iced Blended Double Chocolate



Saturdays & Sundays I am free from looking after my grandson Alif so today after breakfast at home and cooking lunch for the family, I went out at 2pm.


Today for lunch Mak isah cooked 'Fried Ikan Pasong', 'Fried Tempe', 'Fried Eggs with Baked Beans' & my son's favorite ' Kerabu Sayur Masin'. That would be enough for me to leave them eh? Just kidding :p

Before heading for town I sent Noormy (my youngest daughter) to the resort as she is working on PM shift.

Afterwards, I stopped first at my usual 'Car Wash' shop to let them snow wash my Elite Viva. Forty five minutes later I head to Bintang Mega Mall. I drove to 3rd floor to get a good parking space then down the escalator to 'Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf' at the ground floor.

I like passing my own 'alone' time at this place. It's been quite a while I had not come here so definitely I wanted it today :) They have a comfortable sofa to sit and some plug points for us to connect our laptops to go online.

See what I mean? This is where Mak isah sitting right now...Lasagna pun dah habis he he...



I was here since 4pm. Now it's almost 630pm. Dah abis buat one entry ni... :)

And at the same time did chat for 10 minutes with Noormy on Facebook earlier on her Resort's laptop.


My son will be coming home for the weekend (he lives out) at around 730pm later. He knows I am here and Noormy told me to enjoy myself chilling out and come back as late as possible. Hish she loves seeing me relaxed ha ha...

Anyway, I think I give myself another half an hour before I am out of here.


Have a great weekend everyone!


Cheerio.

374. Sayur Keladi Masak Asam

Pernah makan 'Sayur Keladi'? In English this is called 'Yam' and what I cooked was the yam stalks as well as the yam fruit itself. Usually you can find these sold in any 'Tamu' or market in your area. For some yam, the seller has them ready sliced and put into a plastic bag. So all you have to do is just wash and boil them in water first before cooking. Boiling will rid off the 'getah' or 'gatal' of the yam.

Today I cooked 2 bunches of this 'sayur', which hubby has bought on his way back from Niah yesterday. Usually the children like their dad to cook this because he can cook this dish well. Today I said let me give it a try. Lagi pun their dad was busy somewhere with work :)


My homemade 'Sayur Keladi'



What vital ingredient you must have in this dish besides your onions and chillies is you must have some very thinly sliced 'Daun Kunyit' (Turmeric leaves).

Turmeric Leaves (2 stalks)



To Cook :-

1. Ground 2 red chillies, 2 garlic, 3 small shallots & 1 tablespoon belacan (shrimp paste).

2. Break 1 stalk of lemon grass.

3. Saute ingredients 1. & 2. in some oil.

4. When aromatic, add in a glass of water.

5. When boiled, add in 4 - 5 pieces of 'Asam Gelugor' ( dried tamarind fruit).

6. When boiled, add in the boiled sayur keladi in as well as adding more water the same level as the sayur.

7. Let boiled and cooked for 15 minutes under moderate fire.

8. Add in the thinly sliced turmeric leaves.

9. Add salt and ajinomoto to taste.

10. Serve hot with rice.

Best eaten with fried salted fish and 'Sambal Belacan' !


Cheerio.