NoorJannah's Kitchen, Singapore :: the one and only Opeh place in the entire world~

 [thanks to Mazlan for the pictures! click to enlarge]

Andy, in front of Al-Jannah restaurant (behind him)

My husband dragged me along with him on his latest business trip to Singapore. And I thought he is such an awesome guy. So I bought him a shirt while he met his bosses i.e., went shopping (tips rumahtangga bahagia #30) and blogged this down.

The first night we were there, Andy, his friend and colleage took us to this little place for dinner and I thought it was worth a review. It is unique and different and a fun night out of our little hotel room that is the size of a shoebox but equipped with modern gadgets. That's Singapore for you: small and expensive.

otak-otak: sotong, udang and mackeral flavours

Sotong goreng tepung. The batter tasted suspiciously of Adabi Tepung goreng pisang.

We started off with otak-otak. One piece is SGD$1.80 and you have to get five minimum. Don't be surprised but it tasted nicely like the ones at home, except the shape and size has gone through somewhat of a drastic transformation (its not cone-shaped but a big flat square). We hesitated to try some but the kindly lady at the next table said it was very good and we should try it. And it was.

Andy, our Singapore food expert.

Owner of the restaurant, a very kind elderly pakcik (melayu)

The guys ordered the beef hor fun in opeh dish and I noticed the couple at the next table had gear box mee hun opeh which looked increadibly tasty too. But me myself just ordered nasi and telur dadar (A!) that night because I didn't feel so adventurous. I tasted some of Mazlan's though and it was not bad (average of 3.5 out of 5 from the guys). I would say a good sound B from my few spoonfuls. The opeh leaves are worth the drive all the way from Chinatown nevertheless, its the only time you can relate to all those Lat cartoons. You can't find it no where else in the world. 

Enjoying Singapore. 

Inside Noorjannah's Kitchen. 

The mosque at Changi Road, Kembangan, Singapore.
Very conveniently located across the road from Al-Jannah.

Masjid Kassim is just across the street less than 30 m away from the restaurant (waze it!) and after dinner we went and had our jama' ta'khir maghrib and isya' prayers there. Side note, be careful of smoking in Singapore because it's illegal and you could be fined SGD$300 or thrown into jail for polluting the air and jeopardizing the health of others. Don't say I didn't warn you. They have cameras all over in this small country. And RFID detectors for that card they make you buy for your car.  :O

Noorjannah's menu. Click to enlarge.

NoorJannah's Kitchen
Kembangan, Singapore (waze it!)

Cleanliness: B
Food: B; A for being creativity though!
Price: A -- for Singapore, it was OK
Service: B+
Atmosphere: B
Satisfaction level: A -- enjoyed the night out immensely

Alamanda Foodcourt: crazy selection of food~

Me with my crispy poppia. And sis and daughter.

Fun times in an Alamanda foodcourt on a work day with my family members--the ones who stay home and lepak all day watching sinetron (the Indonesian dramas). My mother, may Allah reward her for bringing 6 healthy boisterous people into this world, had a stroke 3 years ago and once in a while we'd take her out on a shopping spree. Please remember to include her in your prayers. May Allah make her well again. May Allah shower her with His love and guidance. What am I without my mother? Unborn.

Mak and her nasi campur.

Begin review:

My mother, my maid and Iman, my step-daughter, had food from the Nasi Campur stall--the very first stall on your right as you enter the foodcourt. There's a nice selection of lauk there priced unbelievably, let me emphasize CHEAP. I am not sure if the dude at the counter is new, or my smile was sparkling white that day but my mother's dish had about 6 lauk on it and he charged me RM7.50. My step-daughter had her telur masin what-not what-not and that was RM4.50 only. And my maid had some kuah and veggies and that was RM3. 

I was shocked suspenseless. Can Nasi Campur Putrajaya be cheaper than Nasi Campur Bangi? Is Bangi really the metropolitan it claims to be? Watch TV3 to find out.

Jah and her yee mee.

My sister Jah had what we usually order when we eat at Alamanda: sizzling-black-mushroom-chicken-yee-mee. That's the stall with the longest line and cheapest entrees (or so I thought before I came across Nasi Campur.) Possibly the best yee mee in the whole of Putrajaya too. I can recommend a nice Yee Mee place in Bangi, but I will save that for another entry. Please stay put until I do.

Side note: I do not recommend Sizzling Yee Mee to pregnant moms and unhealthy people though. I suspect there is a considerable amount of MSG in Yee Mee that only very healthy young people are able to digest. High dosage of MSG's may cause heart palpitations or nauseousness. Those shitake mushrooms don't help either: they have a really strong flavour and leave you with petai breath. 

Armand with his bento box

My son loves the Teppanyaki Salmon to pieces. I do too..it's the brown sauce, which is probably made from salted soy sauce, honey and few hundred sploshes of Aji-No-Moto. What I do not love is the price. For RM18 you might as well eat at a posh Japanese restaurant with your feet in the air than a noisy food court with plastic tables. Armand doesn't even eat the beancurd soup or salad that comes with it, so if I order, I would return the soup and salad and ask to replace it with extra rice and more salmon. Smart as a Japanese, aren't I? Except if the Japanese was really really smart, they'd make a better version of the beancurd soup.

Siti with her coconut drink

My maid had the nasi campur, but her nasi campur only had kuah on it so a picture of her with that would look like we are depriving her of lauk which may end up on youtube under maid abuse. So we thought we'd take a picture of her with the coconut instead and she willingly agreed because she's on a roll to get fit. The coconut at the drink counter costs only RM4.50 and is fresh and good for you. Its probably the only dish in the entire foodcourt that is  not splurged with MSG. And with a model like that <-- who can resist? 

As for me, I had the crispy poppia with crabstick --shown in picture at top. I don't know why I bought it, I make better poppia at home, but I seem to get rambang mata at the Alamanda foodcourt everytime and don't know what to order. In the end I always end up eating a little off everybody's dish (read: finishing my mom's leftovers) and ordering the cheapest item available: i.e., crispy poppia. Besides, the guy at the Poppia Crispy stall intrigues me. He's like the only second person in the world who looks really unhappy to see me. The first is the chinese dude in Warta who is always telling me to keep my watches away from my mobile phone like I shouldn't give him business.

Iman with her nasi campur

I hope you enjoyed my review. Next time you are in Alamanda, skip all the restaurants and head straight to Auntie Anne's. The pretzels there are crazy awesome. 

Alamanda Foodcourt
Putrajaya

Cleanliness: B
Food: B
Price: B
Satisfaction Level: B
Service: B
Atmosphere: B

Satay Kajang Haji Samuri (progress! we need progress~~!)

Note: This is a re-post and re-edit from an older entry which is no longer available for your viewing pleasure.

The Glory days. Newspaper cutting from 2001. The one and only wall deco.

Like all mysterious things in life, Satay Kajang baffles me. They know how to make good satay. They have the recipe for the best kuah satay ever, but they have one of the most mediocre restaurants in downtown Bangi.

Citrus BV2: Wicked Food!

With one of my wicked sister.  Does she look familiar? 

This was a weekend brunch with my Wicked Sisters, kak Shan and Kak Sarr. So called because we went to see Wicked together a lifetime ago in Singapore. That, and because we really are wicked. Sometimes.

Penang House @ Street Mall Cyberjaya: good good cheap cheap

Curry Mee and Beef Noodle Soup. A!

As I sit in my office waiting for my academic advisees to show up, I sit staring at these pictures -- trying to remember how good it tasted. These were from the last 3 weeks, when I went out with Ningy for lunch at the Street Mall, and I was about 10 lbs lighter. Since then I have put on more muscle from various activities. Weddings mostly.

Umai Cafe: my Putrajaya's favourite hangout

Qayyum under water umbrella 

I can't count the number of times we have eaten here, and I have taken so many pictures of perhaps nearly all the food (though goodness knows where I've put them), but these are the only ones that made it into this entry.

Umai Cafe is situated by a lake, between Masjid Besi and Masjid Putrajaya, right on my cycling route (nearer to masjid Besi). On this particular day, I had wanted to take the kids to the pool, which is right round the corner, and we stopped by Umai's for lunch, because I couldn't be bothered to cook. We had a big wedding to attend to that night (Uncle Amar's) and I still had chores to do: Armand's glasses, Q's shoes, my shoes etc etc etc.

Top 5 reasons why Umai rocks:

PappaRich: Appropriately priced with a touch of class

Reflecting on our reflection. 

I am reviewing PappaRich for the PRU13 Election Day. Because we went there for breakfast after voting, and it felt good. To do the right thing. For once. (I've never voted before).

The bridge: Work YES. Ceramah NO. Lol..

Mazlan showing off his finger.

You've probably been to Old Town right? Well PappaRich is a step ahead of Old Town. The place is comfier, the food is tastier and the service is better. And I have been to a lot of Old Town's and PappaRiches. And PappaRich surpasses Old Town every time. So I am not going to review Old Town (for now). All I can say is the laksa at Old Town is awesome, but lately the servings have been getting smaller and colder (slow). And that has turned me off. Not to mention the outlet at Cyberjaya and Paradigm Mall makes you order at the counter and pay up before they even serve. Do I look like I'd run out of the place when I'm done? Or the guy standing next to me? Yes? Well, no trust no love no order food anymore.

The steamed chicken. 

Le chicken rice. A+

Back to Pappa's, the best thing to order here is anything that comes with the steamed chicken. It is tasty and tender and the watery sauce they put on it is yummylicious even as I bet you a hundred ringgit it's just monosodium glutamate with a dash of soy sauce. I have tried all the breads too. Roti kaya, roti telur, roti sardin telur, roti canai, roti curry and roti susu pekat. All are good. Go for it. 

(Not so sure with the western dishes though. I wouldn't go that far. I have yet to find a good chicken chop dish that is not hanyir.)

Much thanks, Pappa. For allowing us to eat first and pay later unlike your equally glamorous sister-kopitiam where "taking our time" does not include paying. We trust you will keep on serving good steamed chicken. You can trust we will be back for more. If not soon, on the next election day for sure--albeit four years from now. It will be the new tradition for the family. Vote and... "Pappa's?" "Ok". Mazlan would love that conversation. It is so short it's sweet.

Next review insya'Allah: Papa Johns. Oh..., how I have missed thee.. 

This is a shima recommended restaurant! Go!

PappaRich
all over Malaysia

Cleanliness: A+
Food: B++
Price: approx RM35++ for two. Thanks abang :)
Satisfaction Level: A
Service: A
Atmosphere: A

Bangi Briyani: First class Briyani :: World Class Tauhu Bakar~~

Kambing briyani. A++

I've done a review on Bangi Briyani before, but I don't think I did the place justice then because I didn't order briyani. But on this particular visit, I did. In fact we ordered chicken (me) and kambing (Mazlan) briyani, and to put it mildly-- it was fantalicious (i.e., fantastically delicious). I hereby declare Bangi Briyani one of the best briyani houses in Bandar Baru Bangi. Please keep in mind however, there's only 3 briyani places in Bangi to my knowledge and this is the only one I've been to so far, so we'll keep the praises in moderation. Or, quoting Mazlan's favorite word: wassatiah. For me, the expression would be: Paling sedap! kot. (To his annoyance).

The restaurant is located on the row of shop lots behind Az Zahra and An-Nur hospitals. For 3 pm, there was quite a pleasant crowd.  An old school friend with his family came in and sat themselves at the next table.  Surprisingly he still recognized me and came over to say hi, albeit I have less pimples, brown contacts (as oppose to my nerdy glasses) and a new guy within a 5 m radius. Powerful thing is the brain; a fact which never cease to amaze me. They can never do that with a video/image recognition system. The new guy would set off an intruder alert alarm and the system would shut down. 

Chicken briyani. A++

Mazlan went genius that day and ordered the tauhu bakar. I have never been a big fan of tauhu related products but the dish was superblicious (in case you're wondering, it's two-word-combination night). It was crunchy and fresh and could kick Chef Wan off the Asian food channel forever. The peanut sauce was divine and contrary to popular belief, it is not the same as kuah satay. They must have used some very high quality dried shrimp to make it too because I didn't break out spotty the next day. Good stuff.

So there you have it: delicious briyani and mind-blowing crunchy superb tauhu bakar, excellent menu selection, friendly waiters, cozy sofas, fast service and fresh ingredients, complete with old school mates as fellow diners. You know what you need to do next:

buy property in Bangi.

Tauhu Bakar. Superb. Go for it. 

Bangi Briyani, 

Bandar Baru Bangi

Cleanliness: B+

Food: A

Price: Around RM50 for two people including drinks and appetizers. Thank you Mazlan. You're the best :)

Satisfaction Level: A+

Service: A+  

Atmosphere: A. Nice crowd, calming atmosphere, comfortable seats.

Sakura Kristal :: Calm, Serene, Relaxing Atmosphere with great food!

This entry is special in itself. It was lunch at Sakura Kristal a few weeks back with Mazlan on his 30++ birthday. By the by, Mazlan is this guy who came into my life and swept me off my feet at a rate of 343 m/s; thats the speed of sound at regular atmospheric pressure in 20 degrees celcius. For us audio engineers, the frequency domain does have it's benefits: for one thing, nobody probably understands what we talk about to each other mostly because it's below 20 Hz. Like now.

The menu

The original plan for Mazlan's birthday was actually the KL tower for lunch, over a pseudo-romantic view of KL in the hot blazing sun as we sip on fizzy apple asam boi not holding hands. But at the last minute we did a detour and instead attended a business talk somewhere in KL that morning, visited his mom in Melawati in the afternoon, followed by my grandmom in Sungai Buluh in the evening and finally coffee with his old school friends in Hartamas later that night. Talk about a Saturday full of new introductions. We couldn't fit in (DS) Najib if we wanted to. Not that we wanted to. No, definitely not.

View from where we sat. Hills in the  background.

I so so loved the place. It was open-air and vast! The tent of a ceiling was some 100 feet above, so lots of fresh air. There was a mild breeze coming from green hills you could see in the distance, and a gigantic propeller for a fan that looked like it had been confiscated from one of those old ancient planes the Wrong brothers crashed. The menu was not bad either: a wide variety of local and western cuisine at pretty reasonable prices. I was so impressed with the place, I presented Mazlan with a small birthday present which I had actually thought of saving for next year. It was that nice~.

Do stop by the restaurant if you are in the Zoo Negara area. If only for the serenity and calming effect if not for the half-starved animals. It definitely worked for me.

Mine. Fetuccini alfredo. Delicious. I wiped the plate clean.

His. Nasi goreng black pepper steak. He wiped the plate clean!

Having fed me really well, (and some private breathing exercises),  he took me to meet his mom. And for the record, it was a good meeting, alhamdulillah. :)

Jasmine Tea. A++

Sakura Kristal
Taman Melawati, Kuala Lumpur

Cleanliness: A
Food: A
Price: I am guessing around RM50 for two people. Thank you Mazlan!
Satisfaction Level: A++
Service: A
Atmosphere: A+++ (I loved it, I can set up camp there).





p/s thank you to my regular visitors. Sorry I haven't been updating a lot lately. Will catch up soon. Insya'Allah.

Madam Kwan's ~ Authentic Fusioned Food :P



Ningy one day before flying back to China.
Circa 2012.



So this was a Ningy and Shima lunch session. We haven't had one of those in so long we were almost polite to each other. In the beginning. Before she bombarded me with questions from the scandalous picture of a few adorable kids I posted on FB. On Ningy's end, she is no longer with her old yoga place, and tomorrow she had a flight to catch to Beijing. It was a good time to get together and do a food review before the next accumulation of overwhelmingly exciting news.

Madam Kwan had recently opened up a new branch in Alamanda. In retrospect, I have had a few invites to Madam's a few times in the past so I have always had this assumption that the place must be really good. I don't quite get the tags on the place though:

Cafe. Okay. Cuisine. Okay. Nasi Lemak. Huh?

Kwanies must not have yet met my post-doc supervisor who would have gone crazy beserk at the sudden inconsistency in noun usage. Definite re-write and six months worth of corrections right there.



Bojori fried rice. That there is an egg. FYI.

The thing about Ningy is that she's really good at picking which dishes to order, which is why I am always dragging her along when we visit a new place. The bojori fried rice she ordered was really delicious. My mushroom chicken rice with soup and grated ginger was okay too, although I suspect the dish has more MSG in it than all the other ingredients combined.

The cendol and ABC was up to standard for the higher-than-average price we paid for it. But the deco at the place was really cosy and more than made up for it.

For now, I'd say Madam Kwan is really good and very comfortable. A fusion of Malay-Chinese specialties that gives authenticity a whole new meaning, priced just right for the average professional who's taking her time applying for that promotion because she is still editing an authentic paper one of her authentic students sent her.

Chicken mushroom rice. B!

Go to Kwanies and order the Bojori. Thanks Ningy.

Madam Kwans

Alamanda, Putrajaya

Cleanliness: A

Food: B+ (MSG-licious)

Price: RM70 for two people including desert

Satisfaction Level: A

Service: A

Atmosphere: A

Rasa Utara (ala Tun Mahathir~)

From left: Sheemz, Nadiaz, Ninaz, and Mizaz (the birthday girl)

This is a back-dated entry from the last Wednesday before Ramadhan Kareem, which we visited to celebrate Miza's birthday. We were checking out Shaftsbury Avenue in Cyberjaya and Rasa Utara seemed to be the most dependable place there compared to the other newly opened restaurants that looked like western bistro's awaiting their sijil halal certification.

Laksa. Sedap. Go for it.

The place is right by the escalator on the first floor and the deco was nice and simple. We managed to get a table right smack in the center of activity and ordered immediately--seeing as I had a 2pm class that afternoon and didn't want to maintain my reputation of always being late to class; a new Ramadhan resolution.

Nadia gives the Mee Rebus an A++

Everyone was pretty excited that day as I recall. It was--after all--Miza's 2046/52.46153 birthday, although she barely looks over 25. Miza's birthday celebration comes in 2 parts: this is Part I. Part II will have some sort of cake dish and will be held sometime during raya insya'Allah. The reason for the 2-part celebration is because Cyber is highly lacking in awesome restaurants, so to compensate we replace one big lunch at an awesome restaurant with lunch at 2 great restaurants instead. Yes, she's very special and we take good care of her.

Nadia ordered mee rebus and me and Miza both ordered asam laksa Utara (apparently Tun Mahathir's favourite dish--it said so on the menu). Asam laksa is healthy for you because it is entirely fish boiled in water with bits of veggies and herbs. My laksa had two big pieces of succulant fish in it (I think it's ikan kembong, I am not so good with fish names), which surprised me (with delight) somewhat.

Ramadhan buffet for buffet lovers.
Jangan membazir ok. Satu pertiga je perut untuk
makanan. Sepertiga lagi untuk air.
And yang lebihnya untuk angin. ;D

Nina didn't order anything. She already had her lunch with her Perbandaran Sepang office-mates and besides, there wasn't anything else in the menu that Tun Mahathir liked. I suspect she's on a diet.

Nadia's mee rebus tasted really good, and she was all over it with enthusiasm, a very rare scene to  behold. She usually has quite mild reactions to good food, something about people from Melaka which I noticed. She must have been either very hungry that day or northern food must really be her thing.

Await for Miza's birthday celebration Part II. We might come back here again and order the big fried fish entree in the wild bamboo tray like the table behind us. Those men were really packing themselves in for Ramadhan.

Rasa Utara
Shaftesbury Avenue, Cyberjaya, MALAYSIA 
not London or some other Western country

Cleanliness: A
Price: ~RM70 food for 3 people, drinks for 4. 
Satisfaction Level: A. Nadia gives it an A+
Service: A waiter was too good to be true
Atmosphere: A. Malay-style.

Nyonya Colors (awesome food that's moderately priced--in KL)

We celebrated the year of the Dragon in Mid Valley with Mark Wahlberg and half of the KL population. And, for those of you who are movie-goers, Contraband, is an extremely violent movie. I was practically on the edge of my seat the entire two hours (wishing for it to be over). Trust the 18 rating given to the movie and leave your kids at home. Children should stick to Nat Geo and the History Channel.

Asam Laksa. YES. YES. Go for it.

Glutinous rice (pulut) with chicken curry.
YES. Ning says.

Since the movie knocked me cold somewhat, I let Ning pick the restaurant for lunch. Besides, it's not like I stuck her picture on that left wall for nothing--she does have a knack at choosing very good food. And once again, I must admit, I was impressed. The place we had lunch at was awesome, and to be honest, I wasn't even that hungry. The asam laksa was excellent. And for RM9.80 I thought it was worth every single penny: big pieces of succulent fish, thinly sliced pineapple (I am a self-proclaimed Pineapple Princess), a drizzle of otak udang and and just the right amount of mint leaves. Ning had the pulut with chicken curry. She said it was marvelous. Take her word for it. She is a loyal citizen of that mall.

So there you go. Nyonya Colors. My first ever favourite restaurant in Mid Valley. Before that, Tony Roma's had potential, but that place is too expensive for it's own good. Now until the next time Ning drags me to Mid Valley, I am going back to Alamanda. 

Nyonya Colors 

(in front of Subway) Mid Valley --there's a halal cert by the counter

Cleanliness: B+ (wasn't paying attention though, could be A)

Food: A

Price: ~RM11 excluding drinks

Satisfaction Level: A

Service: B (queue at the counter, they send your food to the table)

Atmosphere: B+ (packed midvalley style)

posted from Bloggeroid

Penang Village (good food, awful service)

Miza and her cendol bandung.
Seem familiar? YES

Yesterday and the day before I was sick. And the doctor said I needed to stay home and rest even though I looked pretty okay on the outside. So today, to get rid of that final piece of viral infection that was tensing my muscles, it was time to shop and review a restaurant. With Miza. And the place we chose was Penang Village.

The large crowd during lunch implied good food. So we were pretty confident this was going be a great review, and I could enthusiastically recommend this place to you guys, and all of you would go and rock Penang Village with your significant others  and babies.

The deco was nice, the chairs in the backroom where we sat ---awesomely comfortable; black leather with an armrest to one side, I was quite impressed. We sat down and the waiter, who was all smiles, presented us with two dog-eared menus that did not quite match the new deco. Never mind that, we enthusiastically scanned the entrees.

 I asked the waiter for the most-ordered dish. And he said kuew teow goreng. I ordered mine without the tauge (beansprouts) and prawns and Miza went for original recipe. We also ordered the Pie Tei for appetizer and two cendol syrups.

My kuew teow. Not pedas enough! 

Here's what happened:

Miza got her food first. Her plate was stained like it was not washed properly. Mine arrived about 10 minutes later. So by the time we ate, Miza's kuew teow must have cooled off already. 

The Pie Tei, although delicious, arrived with dirty spoons, so we used our hands.

My glass of water smelled used so I asked for a new one. (What did it smell like? air liur basi).

Miza's kuew teow. YES.

I had requested my kuew teow hot, but it did not have a single piece of cili in it, even though it originally said on the menu: chicken prawns, and cilis. (Chicken prawn must be some kind of prawn, because there was not a single piece of chicken in mine).

And my cendol syrup arrived just as we were leaving.

The dining experience fell so short of my expectations, it is affecting my opinion of the food as I write this. In comparison, Seri Penang in Cyberjaya had nice crisp menus, more dedicated waiters and  food presented on very clean dishes. Perhaps we just got unlucky and it was just not our day at Penang Village. Good thing there were lots to talk about.

Pei Tei. YES.

So in retrospect, next time we want nyonya food, you know where we're heading to right? Take a wild guess.

Penang Village, 
Alamanda, Putrajaya

Cleanliness: C (dishware dirty, awful)

Food: B+

Price: RM25 per pax including appetizer and cendol

Satisfaction level: C

Service: B+ (waiters were friendly)

Atmosphere: B (quite a good crowd, regardless)

posted from Bloggeroid

Sheemz's Bistro (Nasi lemak Sabtu, all pure and natural~~)

Made in Malaysia

This entry is dedicated to all my family and friends away from home.. Just so that they finish whatever it is they're doing and come back to Malaysia soon because Malaysia got nasi lemak (and Malaysia rocks).

Intro: Its always easier to buy nasik lemak than to make 'em, because 10 nasi lemaks in Bangi will cost around RM25 (and that's if its coming from the market, not some fancy kopitiam)  and going to the market and buying stuff to cook nasi lemak for 10 people will cost around RM60. But nothing beats a home-cooked meal right? End of intro.

Here's my recipe. Remember to include lots of love and lots of smiles as you're cooking. The food you make kinda reflects what you're feeling (so eating out is the best option on that day you got the parking ticket). I really don't know how Gordon Ramsey gets away with edible food with all the kers words he throws around in his kitchen. At the rate he's going, his customers are probably chewing plastic and putting on artificial smiles cause they're on TV.

Ok. The ingredients. And the how.

For the rice. 

Here's the stuff you need for the rice. Rinse the rice three times as usual. Add filtered water and the coconut milk, ratio 1:1. Make a nice bow out of the pandan leaves and chuck them in with the thinly sliced ginger. Put in as many pandan leaves as you want. The more the merrier. Add a pinch of salt to taste. Not the whole bottle.

Here's the stuff you need for the sambal. This is crunchy sambal ikan bilis, so, deep fry the anchovies first till they are crunchy and then use the same oil to fry the cili paste (this is fresh cili gilling, no vinegar in it. But using only fresh cili's is okay too, in fact probably much healthier). Blend the cilis, onions and garlic with some water. 

(You only need very little garlic. 3 cloves is enough for I love you. 5 onions for I love you very much. And 14 big red cilis for I love you very much and insert any cheesy sentence here. )

That blob is gula melaka. Asam jawa
not in picture.

Just fry everything up and then chuck in a spoonful of gula melaka or regular sugar. Not too much. Just to get a nice color going. Once it is nice and bright red, squeeze in some asam jawa and add in half of the already fried anchovies. Finally, add some salt. Careful on the salt because the anchovies are salty already.

There's no belacan in my sambal although the traditional recipe calls for it. Without it the sambal tastes good already and nobody has ever said to me 'there's no belacan in your sambal' with a bored look on their face (usually they're very excited when they say it). Adding in belacan will probably give it an extra kick though (not the sambal, the resdung).

This is what you need for the condiments. Get your son to cut the cucumber (if you don't have one you can borrow mine) just so that it's all different shapes and sizes. And by the way, this is not just any cucumber. These are timun Jepun, politically known as gerkins. 

Gerkins, eggs and peanuts

In a different bowl, mix the peanuts up with few drops of oil and a pinch of salt and chuck them in the microwave for 10 minutes. Finally, wash, boil and peel the eggs. You can get your son to do that as well. He will love it. I personally love my eggs fried. But, from now on we're taking the healthy route.

The whole entire nasi lemak cooking process will take around 30 minutes. Stopping to take pictures adds on additional 10. My dad was so excited to see me take pictures as I cooked, he offered me his camera (technically it was my camera). I politely declined the offer.

Once you're done cooking, pile everything up on the kitchen table in pretty bowls. Cut some daun pisang from your neighbors backyard if you want that authentic nasi lomak feeling. Then, when everybody's sat down and ready to eat, cedok the rice so that its nice and hot~~

Bon apetite!!

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