Velvet: Just the 2 of us

Evening with Emily - Episode 4

2009-02-01T13:12:00.003+08:00

This section of Evening with Emily is actually linked up with Emily's first major cookout for my family. The pictures you see below were samples taken before the actual cookout day. Look just as good and just as tasty. Drool away.....

Grilled chicken with black mushrooms, onions and tomatoes. Oil free but you can feel the juices oozing out with each bite down on the chicken flesh. Its still oily mind you, but its the chicken fats thats tickling your taste buds to make you take another big bite. The mushrooms, onions and tomatoes were grilled just right and adds the unique grilled/charred taste. My family didnt have the luxury of the mushrooms, but they got fifteen (15!!) wings for them to chow on instead. Didnt hear any complaints.

When you got meats, you have to have your greens. Well in this case, wasnt that all green but Emily complimented the greasy meats with fresh Italian salad using combo of greens, cherry tomatoes, sweet capsicums and apples. Havent seen this one at the shops and I wouldnt think you have either. The italian dressing is light and just right for the dish, washing down the greases from the chicken.

Next up... some home style chinese stuff.....

Happy New Year!!

2009-02-01T13:06:00.003+08:00

GONG XI FA CAI!!!

Big Happy Chinese New Year to everyone and hope the year of the Ox will bring us good luck with plenty of "bullish" runs!!!!

Its the first year we're giving out Angpows... and it feels so weird (and painful). But its all in good spirits of CNY. Have a good one!

Melaka - Quick Stop in a Timeless City

2009-01-09T23:20:00.010+08:00

Our weekend getaway in December included a quick stop to my home roots of Melaka. It's been a while since I took a trip back to my Hainanese roots and really admire the change this amazing historical city has gone through. Gone were the days of travelling in my uncle's Pajero charging into durian plantations and playing firecrackers behind my grandma's place.

Years later, I'm with my wife showing her the home roots of my parents and a few modern sights as well....

Man-made fountain opposite Bukit Baru to welcome visitors coming in from Ayer Keroh.

The latest shopping attraction in Melaka, the Dataran Pahlawan. Unique lower ground shopping experience with the latest trendy outlets you find all over KL. But to note, prices are roughly the same as KL, so don't expect to come all the way here to get a bargain.

Didnt I see you somewhere before? Yea, its the Eye of Malaysia, moved to Melaka since October 2008. Located just outside the reclaimed land near Mahkota Parade, the Eye seems to be the biggest (in size and all) attraction yet in recent years.

Finally, down to the food. A quick confession on my part first though. Our first meal when we arrived at Melaka was the famous Jonker Street pork satay. Unfortunately we were so hungry that by the time we downed our food, paid the bill and drove off, we only realised that we didnt snap a single photo! Oh well.... there will be a next time.

The only food stop this trip that we did actualy took the time to snap some pictures was the famous Hainanese Chicken Rice at the edge of Jonker Walk. This shop has been here for a while ever since I was kid and people are still queuing up outside to get a taste of Melaka's old-time favourite.

The famous rice balls. I'm sure every food blogger out there has probably had a taste of this and nothing much for me to comment here. But what I do know that the taste hasnt changed in 20 years.

One thing about old fashioned Hainanese chicken rice, its the chili. Different families carry different chili recipes and my grandma is one of them. Seems like this two plates here are on the less fiery and more watery side than what I'm used to. But who's denying a chef that's probably serving the same chili recipe for the last 20 odds years?

And if you think the rice was special, check out the chicken. Soft and juicy but you have to hand it to the chef for his effort in food presentation (or the lack of it). Probably its the same way he's been doing it hundreds of times each day - chop, cut & serve.

Evening with Emily - Episode 3

2009-01-09T22:50:00.017+08:00

Have you had one of those days where you come home, exhausted out from a long day?

You're not feeling too hungry, so you refrained from stopping by the drive-thru for a McValue meal. You raid the fridge, and you find some leftovers but doesn't seem too appealing on its own. And somehow your only option is that one slice of leftover pizza in the freezer.....

So what do you do???

Don't ask me, I wouldn't know what to do either. But Emily does.

Looks like something that's fresh out of a restaurant pan? Its basically a small portion of reheated home-cooked claypot chicken rice, an egg and chopped fresh lettuce leaves on the side. Garnished with some spring onions and cucumber and whoalah!

Overnight food never looked this good especially after a long day. Time to pack those pizzas back into the freezer....

Evening with Emily - Episode 2

2009-01-09T22:16:00.011+08:00

Western anyone?

Not your average Grilled Chicken Chop with side coleslaw, some chips and a bun. Not even close. Feast your eyes below first.

Deep-fried Chicken Wings in "special breadcrumbs". When I meant special breadcrumbs means not the usual ones you get off the baking section at Tesco. Nup, you gotta search for the special Japanese tempura breadcrumbs hidden under the foreign section in Mercato.

Merca what?

You only shop there when you're after something special to prepare that special something. In this case, its Deep-friend Chicken Wings. Golden brown crispy skin which just crunches up on each bite. Tender and moist chicken meat on the inside. Yea its a bit sinful on the oil and fried part, but you gotta agree with me... its not your average KFC. Take that Colonel Sanders.

Moving along....

Looks like your average potato salad? Probably so, only difference is Emily made this fresh rather than a refridgerated version you get off Dave's Deli. One thing you gotta know about me is I love potatoes. Mashed, chips, shredded, pan fried and of course salad.... Top it off with a right serving of mayo, onions and carrots....yummy.

And finally...

You have to love the colours on this one. Fresh greens mixed with the bright orange colour of the juicy mango, red pepper and black olives. To top it all up - beautiful fresh prawns. And lastly, laced around with a serving of Italian dressing. The fresh taste of the salad just blends in with fried chicken wings and potatoes above. You can taste the mix of flavours of the sweetness of the mango, raw taste of the fresh veges and just the hint of sour from the dressing....

Home-made Prawn & Mango Salad with Italian dressing - Emily style.

Orlando Magic: Dwight Howard

2009-01-01T12:49:00.007+08:00

I've been an Orlando Magic fan since I was 14. For those rookies about US team sports, Orlando Magic is one of the 30 teams in the NBA at the moment. Nope... Michael Jordan played for the Chicago Bulls. Erm... the guy with HIV was Magic Johnson.

Orlando Magic is based in Florida where you get the coolest attraction in the world next to Disneyland --- Disneyworld. I started following Orlando since its high rising days of Shaquille O'neal and Penny Hardaway where they rose to the NBA Finals in 1994 only to crash to earth by getting swept 4-0. Since then Shaq joined the LA Lakers (now with Phoenix), Penny retired, Magic had the injury-proned Grant Hill (now with Phoenix) and the high scoring but cocky Tracy McGrady, or T-Mac (now with Yao Ming in Houston).

15 years later, I'm a still a fan. Fan during its glory days and its doomed season where they finished dead LAST in the league. But there was a silver lining in the clouds which loomed after that horrible year which I sat infront of ESPN only to watch them getting pounded over and over again. Its like watching Man United get trashed by every team in the league. That time was soon over. Over when Orlando drafted this guy off high school.

The one.

The saviour.

Enter Dwight Howard....

Orlando is now 25 wins and 7 losses on the back of this man-child. For those who needs an orientation of what raw power this man can display, check out this youtube clip:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmlDqPtHV-E

To be an absolute fan, you gotta go all the way. I got wallpaper, cards, autographed stuff, posters and pictures. Even have this guy on my facebook. Probably get myself a jersey soon. Only wish it costs lesser than RM200.

Price you pay of being a fan.

DH12. Remember that when they become NBA champions this year.

Weekend Getaway - Avillion Port Dickson (Part 3)

2009-01-01T09:54:00.009+08:00

So whats else to do in Port Dickson besides the resort? Well the trip ain't complete without trying Port Dickson's well publicised seafood. Not sure quite how fantastic could the seafood be considering that we were reluctant to step into the beachside as some of you might already know.... PD beach aint the cleanest ones you'll find in West Malaysia.

Still, I did my homework and people say we had to try the seafood from the famous Weng Yin Seafood Village. Located supposedly 5.5 miles (approx 9km) from our resort, it took roughly 25 minutes through some winding, twisting dark roads, a stop at a Shell station for directions and we finally ended up in front of a not-that-dodgy but decent looking restaurant with ample parking and plenty of tables spread outside.

It was roughly 7pm and yet only a quarter of tables were filled. We weren't sure if this was the place people were raving about, but within another 20 minutes, the place was packed. And this time, it was certained that we were in the right place.

Our meal comprised 4 dishes, one of them a serving of green vege. The others.... for you to drool below:

Their famous Kam Heong Bamboo Clams. Super duper tasty. Lacking abit of the flesh, but what you expect from a shellfish dish. More shells than meat.

Chef's speciality beancurd. Home made and extremely soft. Simple cooking style with oyster sauce gravy and some vege. Nice.

And finally the main dish. Butter crabs....oh my. The taste of the butter gravy was absolutely heavenly. The crabs were kinda small, but it was our fault there overestimating the size of the crabs when we placed our order. No wonder the waitress gave us a look when we wanted only two crabs instead of three. She probably could have eaten both on her own. But the texture of the flesh was super fresh and mashed together with the butter sauce was something you cant really get in KL. Definately a must the next time I come out here.

Overall, the price for 4 dishes, two drinks and rice was an affordable RM43. You cant complain about that. Beats resort dinner buffet anytime.

For those who wanna check it out, Weng Yin has a website. Yes, Weng Yin HAS A WEBSITE:
http://portdickson.vnet.my/contacts/0001

Thats it from PD. Next stop, Melaka.

Weekend Getaway - Avillion Port Dickson (Part 2)

2009-01-01T08:32:00.010+08:00

More pics taken from the resort.........

Walkway outside the garden chalets. Beautiful for those who enjoy the greens. Not too fancy for those who like to become food for the mosquitoes. Received 5 bites to my leg while taking this two minute stroll....

Top view of the resort....

Thats peacocks on the roof. And not just any roof.... its the roof of the water chalets... yeah, the ones with the open air shower. Go figure.

I think the walkways were printed with her feet in mind....

View from one of the lookout points. Supposely one of the main attractions in the resort. Well, I got better view from my balcony....

Now I wonder is it to warn you of your clothes flying off into the sea or prevent your underwear from being the focus of flash photography by your chalet neighbours....

Weekend Getaway - Avillion Port Dickson (Part 1)

2008-12-28T08:44:00.011+08:00

After almost a year and a half, I finally got a chance to get out of the city to just relax. Wedding prep and all has been a real weight on our minds throughout the last 9 months, and to finally settle down for a weekend of real R&R.... wonderful.

I actually took the liberty of joining the Avillion Club. Cool stuff. For just RM588, you get a free night stay in each of their resorts (PD including), free cakes, discounts on spa and more discounts for future stays. For this weekend, I had us booked for PD followed by Mallacca (more on that in another post). But check out the pics we took from the resort....

Our Premium Water Chalet room. Priced at a helfty RM540++ a night during weekends. Our club member rate: RM60++ without breakfast. Nice comfy bed. High ceiling with good ventilation and fan so the air isnt too dry. TV is rather small though, but with a bed like this, who needs the TV...

The day bed. Quite cozy for reading and absolutely fantastic view of the sea once you raise the blinds. Bed's abit hard though and I'm not a big fan of the pillows. Never know where that might have been....

The sight of the sea of our room. Nice...

The view of the sea itself in the evening before the storm at night. Doesnt get any closer than this....

Pics from our bathroom. Its big but not easy to move around. The open air shower is OK, but hate the stench of the sea in the mornings when you brush your teeth. But the HIS & HER wash basins is a nice touch.

More pics later.... ta.

Little Black Ants

2008-12-28T08:25:00.007+08:00

Little Black Ants - Monomorium minimum (Buckley).

Hate them. Annoying critters. Sticks everywhere they go. Just a real pain in the neck.

Nope sorry I'm not referring to your common pesky household insects. More like a group of people with similar traits and attitude. Two instances within a span of 3 days enough to drive me up the wall.

Part 1
We've been peacefully staying in our condo for the last 18 months. My dad had purchased the unit below us for my Sis to stay when she becomes more "financially independent". Alas, the lifestyle of automated home cook dinners, laundry and dishes became too easy for my sis that deciding to stay home with my parents became a matter of neccessity rather than convinience. Hence, after 18 months, the floor below is finally rented out.

To a family of black ants.

Well done Dad. I'm sure they will be the best of tenants. No complaints from me IF no complaints from them. It took only Day 0.083 for them to start getting on my nerves. Sparing you the lengthy details, but I'm sure there will be more hell to come.

Part 2
Its 7:30am and I'm thinking what to write for my latest entry. Thinking of maybe last nites simple reheated dinner, but then it started.... music you'd heard only if you were still watching RTM2 on a Saturday afternoon. Head boggling dance musics. So loud, that I even shut every single window and curtain in my house and it's still ringing in my head. What more for Emily, dreaming in bed, and suddenly awaken by the shrieking, thumping "music" of the black ants in the open park behind our condo.

Looks like they're having some form of sports... or maybe a wrestling match I once witnessed. Though human, still behaving like their animal or should I say insect nature of the Monomorium minimum. Well, nothing more I can do. Police have been notified and I saw them swing by.

Probably a walk in Pavillion later to clear my head. If not, more drastic measures are required.

Anyone care to donate for me to move?

Evening with Emily - Episode 1

2008-12-24T07:34:00.001+08:00

You gotta love Tom Yum. Its probably ranked up there along my top 5 favourite soups. The aroma just creates saliva dripping down the sides of your mouth down to your tongue. Depending on where you're having your tom yum, each place offers a uniqueness on its own. Some like it hot. Some like it sour.

But I like mine with..... plenty of mushrooms!! Yea, lots of chewy shitake mushrooms soaking up the hot & spicy taste of the soup. The soup is clear almost like a broth as compared to some fiery red ones you find at authentic Thai restaurants. Emily and I prefer it this way and we could enjoy the taste of the contents in the soup. In this case, we had large prawns, crab sticks and yes... loads of mushrooms......

RM10.90 anyone? In your dreams. With prawns that size, that many mushrooms and a soup that good.... RM18.90 probably makes the cut.

Lucky me.

Evening with Emily - Introduction

2008-12-24T07:32:00.000+08:00

No, this aint a romantic story. Nothing close to anything extra-ordinary. But it aint ordinary either. I think we've all grown old with the food blogs visting to the fancy places across all corners of the country (or even beyond). We've seen all the mouth-watering, cheesy, to-die-for dishes followed by gosh-i-wish-i-was-thin deserts and all....

One thing these bloggers aint doing reviews on, is their own home cooked food. Yea I know, many of us dont have the luxury of having their moms serving up the multi-course meal at home, what more your lovely wife tabling what not only looks good, but is worthy of being shared with you all (visually :p).

I've had the privilege of being to able to sample some of her dishes over the course of living together for more than a year. I have to admit, we did went through some disasters... after all, no one's perfect in the kitchen. How else would you think chef Ramsay could concoct a show called Hell's Kitchen?

But again, it was more good than bad. But right now we have the power of the "cam" to really showcase what I have been enjoying and what you guys are missing....

Enter.... Evening with Emily

Arsenal 1 Liverpool 1

2008-12-23T15:57:00.000+08:00

Yet another miserable draw for the Gunners as their title hopes starting to sink faster than the captain of the Titanic can shout "Iceberg!". Ice is the right word as the Gunners were icy cold from the get-go. Even with a superb volley from Robin Van Persie, the once exciting Gunners fired blanks after that and got worse when RVP's Togo partner decided to take an early shower and left his team scrambling to maintain parity throughout the game.

This is not the first time Arsenal was put into this situation, but its the countless times in as many weeks I watched my supposedly favourite team play mediocrely leaving me no choice but to flip channels to more entertaining football from the quickfeet Ronaldo or even a re-run of Desperate Housewives.

Emily has asked me countless times to "change my favourite team" to the likes to Man U or even Aston Villa, whom I've been raving about the superb plays of the likes of Ashley Young and Gabby Agbonlahor.... But who deserts their team when they need their fan's support the most? Unlikely Arsene Wenger will hear my cheers and jeers during the game, but its enough for Emily to grab the remote and say "lets watch something less stressful....Next Top Model sounds ok?"

The Gift

2008-12-23T07:27:00.000+08:00

Its been years since I bought a Christmas gift for her. Not saying I never shower her with anything at all... I do.... but this one was more special. It was my first gift to her after our big day. Call it post-wedding.... or advanced Christmas.... or whatever...

But I knew she had her eyes on this for sometime. Girls are like this. They wont say it, but its the look in their eyes that says "I've been thinking about it, but its okay"....

Men & boys alike, lesson to be learnt here. Understand your women's eyes.... sometimes it does take a gift to make her happy. Now go get your girl what they want....

Starting our journey.....

2008-12-23T07:14:00.000+08:00

If there were any dark clouds, she was the ray of light shining in the background... If there was need for a hero, I was the knight who rose to the occasion... Through the thick and thins we went together and finally we made it official by tying the knot on 23rd November 2008. It was joyous and blessed day surrounded by family & friends. But what's most important is, it symbolizes the point.... marks the day even, where the journey of our next phase in our lives begin.

Our lives together.....

This blog will share with you our little adventures, experiences and loads to tasty treats.... So enjoy the ride behind my ramblings and our view using our latest cool gadget, the Canon 870Is.