“Dao Sha Bao" 豆沙包 (Red Bean Paste Bun)

Red Bean Paste inside the Steamed Bun

When I was a little kid I often had this "dao sha bao" which is Hokkien language that means Red Bean Paste Bun. I used to love it until I grew older and started to lose my interest in sweet food. Today I went to "The Chef" at Parkcity with my dad for afternoon tea and we ordered this "dao sha bao" again. I once again got to reminisce the times of my childhood as I enjoyed this perfectly tasty red bean paste and the soft chewy texture of the steamed bun. Main thing here is the red bean paste was very nicely made and wasn't too sticky or gooey and the aroma of the red beans stood out. Once again, I believe many people have their own story behind this "dao sha bao". What is yours?

Photography by Nokia Lumia 1020.

For Lamb Lovers!

Black Pepper Lamb

Just love that special taste of lamb although some people gets disgusted by it right? Just want to share a dish at Reggae's Grill, Bintulu that is the Black Pepper Lamb with Rice. For me the main aspect about this dish is the black pepper sauce. A lot of times when I order food with black pepper sauce, the sauce is just sometimes "overwhelming" and lose their aroma ending up destroying the whole dish. However the black pepper that I had this time was at a balanced and gave me the "just nice" taste. One thing I realised is that the chef added mint leaves into the sauce as well to spice it up and onions definitely blended well with the sauce and the lamb.

Balanced Sauce and Lamb

The lamb on the other hand was something quite special. I find that the lamb was deep fried instead of stir fry. The texture of the meat was tender yet chewy which perfectly suited my liking. I seldom dine at Reggae's because I normally feel that their food is just "so-so" and does not really impress me, but today's black pepper lamb really gave me the "wow" factor. So all lamb lovers out there in Bintulu, you would want to try this.

Photography by Nokia Lumia 1020.

Awesome Local Malaysian Dishes @ Man Ting Xiang, Bintulu

Looking for a place for lunch or dinner where you can order a few local Chinese dishes with rice at a reasonable price and yet tastes delicious? Well, this afternoon I visited "Man Ting Xiang 满庭香" cafe Assyakirin Commerce Square. They serve delicious "dim sum" in the morning where as for lunch and dinner you get to order from their menu. The place was clean and with good friendly service. We ordered four dishes and all of them came out with good presentation and an awesome fragrance.

Dish 1 : Salted Egg Sauced Pork

Salted Egg Sauced Fried Pork 咸蛋猪肉

Usually in Malaysia we hear about Salted Egg Prawns, sometimes also known as Golden Prawns. This is the first time we heard of salted egg prawns so we decided to give it a try. To our surprise, the sauce tasted exactly like the ones served with prawns and yet while it is served with fried pork, it tasted very different in a delicious way.

Dish 2 : "Cangkuk Manis"

Cangkuk Manis 蛋炒马尼菜

Another local Malaysian vegetable normally served with fried egg. I'm not a big fan of this Cangkuk Manis thingy but my parents love it so much. It tasted a bit sweet and it goes perfectly well with the fried egg. Sometimes this Cangkuk Manis is used in Fried Bee Hoon as a FooChow local delicacy.

Dish 3 : Deep Fried Yam Ring with Mixed Vegetables

Deep Fried Yam Ring with Mixed Vegetables

As a kid I loved this dish. The deep fried yam ring shaped like a bowl while inside filled with mixed vegetables and pork. Sometimes served with sweet and sour pork. What is special about this particular dish today was it was served with coriander which added an awesome fragrance to the dish. However some people dislikes that "fragrance", but for us, it was just what we needed.

Dish 4 : Sweet and Sour Fish

Sweet and Sour Fish 酸甜鱼

Nicely made sweet and sour sauce on fried Black Pomfret fish is one of the best combination you can get for this dish. The fish was fresh and we enjoyed the dish. Basically we finished the whole dish until so "clean" that what was left was only the non edible bones.

So those were the four dishes and I would say it tastes as good as or even better than restaurants. The price for all 4 dishes with plain rice and 2 drinks added up to RM69. Very reasonable price and definitely recommended!

BBQ Pork Rice @ iCorner, Bintulu

While out searching for lunch today, many places were so crowded as its a Sunday. Ended up at iCorner cafe at Parkcity Bintulu and had the well known BBQ Pork Rice, 叉烧饭. The taste was indeed good and the sauce was really nice, not too sweet and brings out the authentic taste of BBQ Pork. The price was RM5. Definitely recommended in Bintulu.

BBQ Pork Rice