Chocolate Truffle

I have always love chocolate. Who doesn't? This is actually my first trial of dessert-making and so I chose to make something i love instead. Perhaps passion could reduce the blunders. And, I am making the rather easy-to-make chocolate truffles or some call it chocolate fudge.
So, here are the ingredients you need for this recipe:

almond...must be roasted

d

dried apricots...chopped dried apricots (inset)

 butter

c

condensed milk

cooking chocolate

After about 30 minutes of double-boiling the cooking chocolate, butter and condensed milk, this is what you get.

You can then throw in the chopped dried apricots and then scoop into the paper cups as follow. Then put them to chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.

as you can see, i am being very generous with my almonds :D

tada!!  my end product

If you do not want to use paper cups, you also also pour the mixture onto a tray and then cut them into pieces after the are chilled enough.
End product looks good...Taste not bad but i personally feel it's a little too sweet. So, i'll most probably reduce the condensed milk or use full cream milk instead.

More recipes coming your way...Till then, happy eating and happy cooking!! ^.^

Sebai Sebai Thai Restaurant

Have i mentioned my cravings for tom yam? Anything spicy and sour is always my favorite! Funny though i have been to this place for 3 times in a period of 3 years (that averages out to once a year) but would still vote this place for serving one of the best and most authentic Thai dishes. "Sebai sebai" in Thai means "slowly, easy-going" but this restaurant is not really easy-going at all. The waiters are always at running-pace because of the constant customer-flow, yet their service is still at tip-top rating and never fail to meet customers' requests.

 an outside view of Sebai-Sebai

 deep fried kangkung (RM8)

 petai omellete (RM8)

 Som Tam-Thai's very own unique salad, warning, it's pretty spicy!! (RM14)

 tofu in Thai sauce (RM10)

 my all-time favorite, tomyam chicken (RM20)

Drinks there can be ordered in jug and is more worth it. For RM7, you get 1 whole jug (any drink of your choice) and it can be drank up to 6 glasses. Better still, this place is tax free!! 

Oh ya, i also love the green curry which i had in my past 2 visits. Perhaps now, i should increase my probability of visiting this place. Don't you want to try them out too? :)

Where at?
1, Lintang Batu, 11600 Green Lane, Penang.

Tel no: 04-6568891

Lily's Vegetarian Kitchen @ Madras Lane

I have noticed that although i have been an avid vegetarian, i have never seem to blog on vegetarian shops. Probably this is due to the fact that most of the vegetarian shops i frequent offer very basic economical style dishes and rice. However, this vegetarian shop at Madras lane offers a variety of rice, noodle and even Western, and most important of all, they are meant for vegetarians. Click on the menu below to view larger picture.

you can see that Lily's taken over 2 storeys of the shoplot, the 1 on the ground floor sells those shown on the menu below while the 1 on the first floor sells Chinese Nyonya food which i have yet to visit

menu page 1

menu page 2

self service counter, where you place your order and make payment and then take a number and wait for your food to be served(as you can see, our number is 23)

nasi lemak which comes with "prawn" sambal, "fish", "achovies" and cucumber (RM6)

green curry rice (quite spicy) (RM6)

It didn't take quite a long time for the food to be served although the shop is packed with customers. Prices could perhaps be on the higher range due to the creativity of the dishes. However, i would still recommend this place as a must-visit place. 

They also have a small stall in Gurney Plaza food court, but menu is more limited. 

Where at?

98, Madras Lane, 10400 Penang

Tel no: 04-2263810

Pappa Rich @ E-Gate

A new and up-growing dining place called Pappa Rich, adapts almost very similar concept to that of Old Town Kopitiam. Many people have in fact made a thorough comparison after being to the former. I am off no exception too. The list of food and drinks in the menu was very similar except that they have what a specialty they named "Pappa Naan" which i think was rather nice, if eaten with the curry.

 lemon tea with honey (RM4.20); iced tea (RM3.80)

 Pappa nasi lemak (RM8.90)

 Prawn mee (RM8.90)

 dry curry mee with sliced chicken (RM7.90)

 Pappa Naan with curry chicken (RM6.50)

iced longan milk honey (RM5.90) ; barley lime hot (RM3.50); soya bean with cincau and gula melaka (5.90)

As i have only been there once, i barely had the chance to try out all there is in the menu. I would rate the food there 4/5. It is really much better than that of Old Town and perhaps more variety. And for that, i definitely recommend this to food lovers.

Currently, there are 2 branches in Penang, 1 in E-Gate and another 1 at Straits Key.

all about Bali~

Finally, the long-awaited Bali trip is here...The only thing all of us hoped for is a nice, pleasant weather that could bring nothing but ease to our travelling. And, alas!! We got it...all the 4 days of our trip was indeed smooth-going.

our lodging for the 3 nights (Jayakarta Bali Club)

Here are some of the sight-seeings we have done...

 Bali beach...

more Bali beach...

 isn't Bali all about beach and sand?

 amazing temple of Tanah Lot

 @ Taman Ayun

 sunset @ Uluwatu, a plce full of notorious monkeys (make sure you go with a guide or you might be attacked by 1 of those monkeys; have seen it with my own eyes)

a shot of the Pecatu Indah Resort 

 Tegallalang paddy field (where they filmed "Eat, Pray, Love"

 Tirta Empul

 people bathing @ the public pool @ Tirta Empul (it is believed that if you bathe with the water, you will stay young)

 do's and don'ts @ Tirta Empul pool

 magical water pool @ Tirta Empul

 i thought he was 1-legged til i saw...

this!! (looks like he was practising 1-legged stance)

 coffee testing @ Sai Land, Coffee Luwak (a famous coffee to be tried in Indonesia)

 breath-taking scenery of the Kintamani volcano (in cloudy sky)

breath-taking scenery of the Kintamani volcano (in clear sky)

As advised by a friend who have been to Bali, we didn't try food sold by the road-side. Bali was definitely a heaven for both sight-seeing and food. There is such a wide variety of places to dine that we find 3 nights is barely enough for us to try all. ;p If you have a love for drinking and food, Bali is definitely the place to be! A piece of advice from a taxi driver, "Always frequent the place with lots of people because this shows how good the place is." So, choosing a place to settle down for a meal is not so difficult after all. We were lucky to have been told of Jalan Lesmana, Seminyak where all the "great and famous (lots of patrons)" were located at.

 with a large man-made stage, the Hard Rock Cafe is quite a popular place among the "ang mohs"...they have live performance starting 10pm with local talents showing off their singing abilities (the ones we heard of are pretty good!)

 @ Ultimo, Italian restaurant (a fine-dining restaurant with super low and affordable prices on its menu)

 my favourite of the entire trip (Indonesia's very own ayam panggang with rice, cost about RM13)

another nice ambiance restaurant; Rumors (wonder what the 2 girls are looking at in the yellow-framed picture?)

 here's what they are up to (taking 2-in-1 shot under flame, and this cost only RM10!)

 another round of shot (i didn't try because i was refraining myself from alcohol, trying to uphold the 5 precepts in Buddhism) :)

a random shot of a cute girl i saw during our visit to Tirta Empul

The whole trip was rather nice minus some of the tiring road trips. Bali is actually a huge place. You definitely need to travel by car and must be a superbly capable driver! The road there are very narrow as compared to Malaysia, and surprisingly, the Balians can fit 2 SUV's in 1 single lane! Honking over there is not a scolding signal but a signal to tell you "i am taking over you now, becareful". And the Balians are pretty alright with their peers taking over them. No swearing, no cursing, and for this, i admire them very much!

If you can ride bike, you can rent a bike and travel on your own. If you think you drive better than a F1 driver, you can also rent a car and drive around on your own. ;p If you want more challenges, you can rent bicycle. Otherwise, you can get cabs almost at every corner of the streets at very reasonable rates. No need of bargaining as the taxi drivers use meters. You could also charter a tour guide of your own.
If you so happen to find something you like and want to make purchase (stalls by the road side), make sure you bargain at least 50% off the original price. Don't know how exactly you can do it, but I managed to with the help of my travel mates! ;)

Ah, I have totally forgotten about my spa experience in Bali. Well, it's not something that I want to remember of. Guess I have to say, we were promised a good spa experience but were brought to a rather not-up-to-expectation kind of spa. Should i describe the condition of the room, i will tell you to watch the movie "Saw". Yes, the movie "Saw", or for better imagination, the first movie of "Saw" where Dr Lawrence played by Cary Elwes found himself awakened and chained in an unused bathroom. Well, the spa that i went to gave the similar chilling feeling of that in the movie. *Goosebumps* So, returning to Bali for its spa? Big no no!!

I can definitely find better spa in Penang!!

Hope my sharing on my Bali trip gave you better insights on the beautiful island.

In the mean time, have a happy week ahead!! ^^