Ave Maria!!

Kinda been busy downloading apps for my new toy.. First I would like to apologise to all IPhone Application Developers.. I promise you i will pay for all my downloads once i can afford to.. but for now.. im truly sorry and grateful for ur hard work which i have filled my IPhone 3Gs with.. hehe.. more on that later.. but for now Im going to introduce one of my favourite places to go when i have a craving for a chunk of juicy beef..

Maria’s Cafe in Damansara Perdana.. there have been many nice food places in this area but most of them seem to have closed down.. not sure why but maybe they did not really appeal to the crowd in the area which is predominantly office workers.. nice places like Eagles Nest have all closed down recently.. Im really hoping that Maria’s Cafe does not suffer the same fate but judging from the ambience and food.. its moving in the right direction..

On to the food..

First up we ordered a French Onion Soup.. it was oookay i guess.. nothing special.. will not order it again.. the mushroom soup we ordered the last time we were here was quite nice so give that a try when you visit..

Yummy Yummy Yan Yan..:)

Next up were the mains.. The lady ordered her favourite.. Roast Leg of Lamb

Nicely cooked and a very generous serving too.. The meat was nice and tender and the gravy wasn’t too salty or overpowering.. cant remember the exact price but it was around rm25 for this.. reasonable pricing..

I on the other hand come to this place for 2 reasons..

1st..Perfect Grilled Rib Eye Steak

Damn.. just writing about it now is making me hungry.. The steak does not come with any sauce which is how i like it.. but it comes with a small cut of garlic & herb butter which goes really well with the meat.. I like my steaks medium well and Maria’s does it to perfection.. pink in the middle but without any blood running out.. The meat is really tender and the outside is nicely charred without being burnt.. at rm49.90 its something i would gladly pay for to satisfy my meat cravings..

Now for the second reason i come here..

Heavenly Tiramisu

Warm Moist Chocolate Cake

The desserts here are absolutely to-die-for.. We ordered the 2 above desserts and once we were done i wanted to ‘ta-pao’ some home cause they were just so sooooo delicious..

The tiramisu here tastes really authentic, the layer of cream is just right and the biscuit base has a nice hint of rum to it which makes it delicious!! A definite must try..

The chocolate cake is equally divine.. it comes with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream which provides a contrast to the warm cake.. not too sweet and its very moist but yet it isn’t too rich either.. one of the best chocolate cakes i’ve eaten..

Empty plates..hehe

The desserts were priced at around rm12 for tiramisu and rm8 for the cake if im not mistaken.. the bill came up to rm120 for the 2 of us but it was well worth it.. they serve Wagyu Beef steak here which is priced at rm45 per 100gms which would mean about rm120 per steak.. hmm maybe i’ll try it in the future.. once im richer.. haha..

Maria’s Cafe is located above the german bistro in damansara perdana.. turning in from the LDP, drive straight till you see a citibank on your right.. its located on the 1st floor in the same building.. im sure if it was located in a more strategic place, Maria’s Cafe would be much better known now..  

P.S.: there’s a girl at the counter who is really cute.. d 3rd reason i go back there.. haha..kidding kidding..

Jalan Jalan Cari Makan – Penang!!

Here in Malaysia we’re really lucky.. we have among the most number of holidays in a year, thanks to our wonderful mix of different religions and cultures..

Most recently we celebrated Hari Raya Aidilfitri.. After a long month of fasting(for the Muslims, I on the other hand just enjoyed the wonderful food from the Ramadan Bazaar..), Hari Raya is supposed to be a celebration of forgiving each other and enjoying time with family.. this year it fell on a weekend so i had a nice long 4 day break from work.. what better way to spend it then to make a trip up north.. to the food haven of Malaysia, maybe even the WORLD!! PENANG!!

Unfortunately, the day before my planned trip i was struck with a bout of food poisoning..but was that gonna stop me from going!! no way jose!! haha.. so we set of at around 4.30am to beat the traffic and we did, reaching Gurney Park apartment where we woke Jeremy up..

Penang Bridge at 7.30am

Apartment view from Gurney Plaza:

1st meal on our trip was Dim Sum at Zim Sum, along Anson Road, landmark being KDU college..

As you can see it was absolutely packed.. you have to wait for someone to leave before you get a seat.. The food wasn’t too bad but I had just recovered from food poisoning so didn’t really eat much here..we all know what dim sum looks like so no pics..:)

Morning faces:

Jeremy

Kar Hoe

Alan Yap

Happy Hungry dearie..:)

We made a visit to the Wat Chaiyamangkalaram Temple off Jalan Kelawai next..

Reclining Buddha

After which we felt a bit hungry again so we headed for something that would potentially help me get my appetite back.. 

Penang Road ‘Best I have ever eaten’ Chendul!!

Its actually located along the side of a road so you have to stand and eat unless you are willing to pay a table charge of rm0.50 per bowl at the 2 coffee shops nearby, personally i feel the owners of the coffee shop are kind of ‘lan si’ so i rather just stand beside the chendul stall and enjoy it along with all the many other customers..

While there we also ate another ‘Best i have ever eaten’ food..Assam Laksa!! unfortunately this stall is located in the coffee shop behind the chendul stall, you will see an old lady serving bowls of assam laksa, so you have to order at least 1 drink to sit at their tables..

Penang Road Assam Laksa

I was never a fan of the dish but once i tried this stalls version, im addicted.. really an appetite ‘grower’.. nice amount of sourness and just perfect amount of fish as not to make it taste fishy with a little hint of sweetness from the herbs and ‘hae ko’(prawn sauce)..Delicious!!

For tea we headed for a little know place along Jalan Tamil for its Jawa Mutton Satay!! not hard to find.. its located off penang road so once along Jalan Tamil just look out for this guy..

Indonesian Michael Jackson??Mutton Satay and Nasi Himpit(known here as Lontong)

The satay is excellent, unless you dont fancy mutton.. What makes this different from local satay is the sauce.. The sauce here is prepared when you place an order and is made using a special type of roasted peanuts mixed with chilli and soya sauce and hot water.. and a wedge of lime is squeezed over just before eating.. nice tangy, spicy and savoury..

Sauce in the making

After all that food, we headed back to the apartment for a short nap(we were really stuffed and tired) before heading out to dinner.. And be warned.. the following pictures are known to cause salivating and craving for seafood!!

Bali Hai Seafood along Gurney Drive was our destination(I know, i know, tourist place, but the food is undeniably good).. Their motto, anything that swims, we have it..:)

Tanks of Soon to be SeafoodSpider Crabs Emperor Crabs2 HUGE Groupers..HUGE!! More about Bali Hai here..

That is the end of the 1st day of our food trip.. For the second day im going to just post pictures of the food we ate..

Breakfast:Beef Ball Noodles

This shop serves one of the better beef ball noodles i’ve eaten.. different from my favourite beef noodles at KL but this version is more a clear soup and only comes with beef balls and your choice of noodles, no meat slices, tripe and etc.. very ‘clean’.. nice for breakfast as its not heavy and the chili sauce that comes with it is really good too.. Located at Ho Ping Coffee Shop along the main road Penang Road..

Lunch:

Lorong Selamat Char Kuay Teow

There are quite a few famous places for this dish in Penang, but my personal vote goes to this stall.. their version is just perfect.. not too dry or wet.. 1 setback though.. you normally have to wait around 1/2 to 1 hour for a plate of it due to it being so popular, but the same can be said about all the famous stalls in penang.. difference here is that they actually inform you when you order..

Tea:

After we tried to go to Bukit Bendera and were told that we would have to come back at 8pm as all the tickets are sold out till then, we went to have the Chendul and Satay above again, testament to how nice it was.

Dinner:

Seafood at Tanjong Tokong. The food here is sooooo delicious that I feel it deserves a separate post to do it any justice..

3rd Day we had 1 meal before we embarked on our journey back to KL..

Tandoori & Cheese Naan

This is the main reason i go to Penang.. Kapitan @ Gurney Tower.. The Chicken here is oven cooked to absolute perfection and as you can see the portion is quite big.. and the naan here is very nicely done.. its soft and fluffy and more importantly, they are not stingy with the cheese.. The Briyani here is also very nice.. cooked in a claypot with just the right amount of spices and a piece of either lamb/beef/chicken on top.. prices here are reasonable too.. they also have a branch along Lebuh Chulia but i have not been there yet..

Well that would be all for this trip.. hope you enjoyed it.. so look forward to future food trips ya..^^

Bali Hai Seafood Market

Penang is always associated with delicious food, you can find many delicacies there from all around the world.. i guess being a busy port in the past contributed to the different cultures and tastes of this wonderful island..

One of the many things Penang is famous for is its Seafood and you will find many restaurants here and most of them would be pretty decent, but here is one of my favourites. Bali Hai Seafood Market.. Many people see this place as a tourist haunt but the food here is very nice although you could find cheaper places around.

This is my second visit to this well known place and I have to admit i would come here everytime i come to Penang.. Well, on to the pictures..

Tanks of soon to be Seafood – Top row of LobstersFreshwater PrawnsSpider Crabs.. about 3kgs @ rm28/100gmsEmperor Crabs.. also about 3kgs @ rm38/100gmsMoray Eels.. divers and sea lovers look away now    Mantis Prawns @ rm15 eachHUGE Groupers!! enough for a group of 20 i think..Canadian Geoduck.. why duck?? i have no idea..Live AbalonesDont know what this was.. looks cool though..

and now, on to the food!!

Salted Egg Crabs Kam Heong Razor ClamsScallops with Stir Fried VegetablesFresh Prawns Steamed with Chinese wineThe end result Struggling with the crabsSatisfied customerSucking every bit of meat out of the shellsChecking out the pretty ladies at the next table     

Technorati Tags: Bali Hai Seafood,Penang,Food

All Roads Lead to Rome…

When i began writing this blog i wanted it to be interesting, funny, and more importantly, relevant.. somehow its not such an easy thing to do.. i have a newfound respect for the bloggers who hold a full time job while blogging as a source of income.. somehow managing to find time and discipline to sit down and come up with interesting posts..

anyhow.. Tonight!!(well tomorrow morning in Malaysian time) is the night i’ve been waiting for in a long while!!.. the Champions League Final!! Manchester United vs FC Barcelona in the eternal city of ROME!!.. gonna wake up at 2.30..prepare my drinks and snacks & hopefully watch Man Utd tear Barca apart..

Here is my biased & irrelevant prediction on tonight’s much anticipated match..

barca will line up with a 4-3-3 formation while united will change between a 4-3-3 when they have the ball and a def 4-5-1 whenever we lose the ball.. picture below is of who i think will play tonight..

Barcelona

Manchester United

with-ball

without ball

Keepers

Both keepers are usually solid and reliable.. Valdez has got superb reflexes while van der Sar is capable of leading the defence due to his immense amount of experience.. having said that, both are also prone to the occasional blunder valdez  more so than van der Sar..

Defence

Nothing much more can be said about United’s defence, 14 matches without conceding a goal is amazing and its been a big factor in United’s 25-match unbeaten run in the Champions League. Rio & Vidic can be confident of handling Eto’o and O’shea has been outstanding recently and an ageing Henry, though still a magician, should not be too much of a handful. Evra is up against Messi again and although he handled him admirably the last time these 2 met, Evra has had a rocky return from injury but has shown recovery in the past few weeks.. Barcelona on the other hand will be without 2 key defenders in Abidal and Alves. Puyol should be deployed at right back to deal with Rooney cutting in from the left but im pretty sure Rooney will be asked to track back much more than he goes forward to double team Messi with Evra.. Down the right Park’s boundless energy and direct running will cause a makeshift leftback in Keita some problems and keep Keita from getting forward too much.. Pique and Yaya Toure will be down the middle to deal with Ronaldo although both do lack a bit of pace..

Midfield

Barcelona have enormous creativity in the likes of Xavi and Iniesta(although i hope he doesnt play).. Iniesta has been in excellent form this season and makes Barca tick, when allowed to play his game, he’ll punish any team as Chelsea found out.. I think key in Barca’s middle is Yaya Toure playing at centerback, because he is always the one who cleans up in midfield and protects the back 4, allowing Xavi & Iniesta to get forward.. if Utd can hassle the young midfielder Busquets then Barca will be in big trouble.. Andersons power and penetration paired with Giggs’ dribbling while Carrick picks out his passes can control the midfield..

Forwards

Statistically the best forward line in the world, Barcelona’s trio of Henry, Eto’o and Messi are a frightening prospect, but as long as Evra & Rooney team up well on Messi, and Anderson sticks to Iniesta like a Siamese twin then Barca’s frontline will be rendered useless without its supply.. Ronaldo if he plays anywhere near as well as he did against Arsenal in the semis, Pique and Toure are going to be in for a long long night.. Park and Rooney will provide ample backup on the counter-attack for Ronaldo..

Conclusion

Biased as I may be, the combination of United’s style of football, discipline and experience should provide too good for Barcelona’s free flowing brand of football.. if Abidal and Alves were playing then Barca will be much more of a threat as Rooney & Park will have to play in a 4-5-1 the whole match to counter their forays down the flanks.. My Prediction 3-1 to United!!

Glory Glory Man Uniiiiited!!