Lunch At Restoran Eipoh, Ipoh

Usually at this time, most of us will be busy spring cleaning our houses or making Chinese New Year biscuits or cookies.  As for me and my friends, we put aside some time to meet up for lunch before the Chinese New Year celebration. We had no planned venue for lunch so we were waiting for someone to suggest a venue. Someone suggested Restoran Eipoh which is not out of the way for us, plus we also wanted to buy some biscuits which is somewhere nearby.

Kong cheen sang meen or pre fried wanton noodle.

Everyone enjoyed this noodle.

Sing chow beehoon or Singapore fried rice vermicelli.

This was a disappointment because it was dry and lacking in ingredients except for some beansprouts and pieces of fried egg.

Deep fried salted egg yolk prawns. This was good.

Baby choy sum sauteed with garlic.

Total cost of lunch = RM85 for 4 people.

That comes to about RM20.25 per person.

After lunch, we stopped at Sin Eng Hoe Confectionary because a friend wanted to buy peanut candies. All were sold out and we were told to return at about 5pm for the new stock. We ended up buying some other items.

Instead of peanut candies, I bought the above fried rice crunchies at RM5 each packet.

1 packet of sachima or sak kei ma which is a kind of sweet snack. This packet has almond slices and sesame seeds added to it - RM9.90

This is the original plain sachima - RM7.90

A friend wanted to buy neen koh or sweet glutinous rice cake in the Pasir Pinji market. I accompanied her into the market and I too ended up buying a small size neen koh. This stall is selling the neen koh at RM28 per kilo. This small one that I bought costs me RM11.20.

If you love someone, you will be loyal to him no matter what the cost.

You will always believe in him, always expect the best of him,

and always stand your ground in defending him.

(1 Corinthians 13:7, The Living Bible-TLB)

Nasi Kunyit, Assam Laksa, Neen Koh & Flower Crab Soup

Our morning walk started at about 6:54am.

No sign of sunrise at 6:54am.

Kledang Hill at 7:16am, reflection of sunrise.

7:21am

~~~~~

Hubby and a friend compared notes on nasi kunyi.

The friend recommended this place with a better nasi kunyit at the Dong Ku Teng Restaurant in Canning Garden.

Nasi kunyit or turmeric rice (glutinous rice coloured with turmeric powder).

Hubby had the nasi kunyit served with chicken curry.

This chicken curry has a thicken gravy compared to others place.

I wanted to order curry noodle from the same stall but was told that only the dry version was available which I didn't want. So, I ordered prawn noodle instead, also from the same stall. The seller is generous with the prawns and fish cake slices. This stall starts business at about 6:30am.

Midday sky.

Blue sky and white fluffy clouds.

~~~~~

Having nothing to do, we drove to Ipoh Garden to buy neen koh and assam laksa.

We bought 4 pieces of fried neen koh and 2 pieces of fried banana. Then bought 2 portions of assam laksa and 2 pieces of crunchy fried bean curd sheet from another stall.

We have tried the neen koh a few times but this is the first time buying the fried bananas.

Look at the sticky neen koh oozing out from between the taro and potato slices. Neen koh is steamed and hardened sweet glutinous rice cake.

Crunchy fried bean curd sheet from the assam laksa stall.

Assam laksa with sweet sour fish flakes broth.

Assam laksa broth with thick rice noodle (lai fun).

~~~~~

Simple home cooked dinner.

As I will be cooking flower crabs, I cooked egg with ginger strips soup for hubby. He had steamed rice with this soup.

As I was still quite full, I didn't want any rice. I cooked flower crabs with ginger and wine soup for myself. I haven't had this dish for a long, long time. I gave a portion to my neighbour.

To quarrel with a neighbor is foolish;

a man with good sense holds his tongue.

(Proverbs 11:12, The Living Bible-TLB)

Neen Koh & Minced Pork and Fish Paste Balls

It had been raining the whole previous night until the wee hours of the morning. By the time we woke up, the rain had stopped and we were able to go for our morning walk.

Morning sky at 7:13am.

For the rest of the day, it was gloomy.

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Neen Koh or Nian Gao

Neen koh or nian gao or the sweet sticky glutinous rice cake is usually sold once a year before the Chinese New Year. When the neen koh has been steamed for many hours, it becomes a sticky gluey dough. As a kid, I love to twirl the sticky dough around the chopsticks or a fork and eat it off the chopsticks or fork. Another way is to roll the sticky dough with grated coconut mixed with a little salt and served as a snack. Usually my mom will cut the slightly harden cake into slices, sandwiched it between a slice of sweet potato and taro, dipped into rice flour and egg batter to be deep fried in oil. Another simple way is to coat the slices in beaten egg and pan fry them with a little oil over low heat.

My simple homemade neen koh or nian gao.

Ready made neen koh or nian gao is not cheap. I have tried making neen koh the traditional way once but I don't like the long hours of steaming. This time I tried the simple way with only 4 hours of steaming and it turned out beautifully. I quite like the colour of my homemade neen koh.

To hasten the hardening of the sticky cake for easy cutting, I chilled it in the fridge. When it was hard enough, I cut it into thin slices like the above. I stored them in a plastic container ready to be used. 

~~~~~

What to cook for dinner? I went to the fridge and found minced meat and fish paste. I submerged both packets in water to thaw them which is one of the fastest way. After I have mixed the minced meat, fish paste and all the other ingredients together, I remembered Phong Hong's fried meatballs with corn and that gave me an idea. I had corn in the fridge and I removed the corn from the cob, mixed the corn into the paste before I fried the meatballs. If you are interested, you can click here for her recipe.

Ta Dah! Here is my minced meat + fish paste + corn meatballs.

(Ingredients used: minced meat, fish paste, corn, spring onion, egg, cornflour and oyster sauce. I didn't add salt because there is salt in the fish paste)

Blanched baby Chinese Kailan, drizzled with garlic oil and soy sauce.

Sweet and spicy Thai chili sauce as dipping sauce for the meatballs. This is the only chili sauce I have in the fridge.

Simple homemade dinner for 2 people.

We couldn't finish the meatballs, kept the remaining 7 pieces of meatballs in the fridge next day's lunch.

And I am sure that God who began the good work within you

will keep right on helping you grow in his grace

until his task within you is finally finished

on that day when Jesus Christ returns.

(Philippians 1:6, The Living Bible-TLB)

Dry Prawn Mee, Kolo Mee & Coffee In Penang

Last week, hubby and I followed a friend for a short day trip to Penang. Our friend came to pick us up from our house at about 7:30 am. The weather was nice and cool and it was a smooth drive all the way with light traffic. My hand phone's battery need charging so I didn't snap any photo along the way. Our friend took us to Big Crab Street Food at Fortune Park, Jelutong for breakfast. We ordered the following for 4 people to share.

2 plates prawn mee dry version. This is my first time tasting dry prawn mee. I still miss the prawn mee in soup version.

1 bowl kolo mee with bbq pork.

I love the noodle used for this kolo mee.

2 pieces of crispy thin peanut and coconut pancakes.

Peanut and coconut - yummy combination for the pancakes.

Some dim sum items for sharing.

Saw this hanging pot after I alighted from the car. Interesting to see plants growing upwards and downwards from the pot.

Our friend took us to this old coffee shop for Penang's coffee.

My unsweetened coffee with evaporated milk - kopi-C kosong.

Some toast with kaya (coconut egg spread) with coffee.

After our coffee treat, time to move on to get some street snack.

Famous Fried Tee Kuih (neen koh) in Penang.

Sold at RM 1.50 per piece.

We left Penang for Taiping at about 1 pm.

A variegated Gardenia flower from my garden.

Clay vases from Wood Craft museum, Ipoh.

Linking to Happy Tuesday, Image-in-ing & Tuesday's Treasures.

Pretty words may hide a wicked heart,

just as a pretty glaze covers a common clay pot.

(Proverbs 26:23, The Living Bible-TLB)

Hor Hee Noodles, Baked Chicken Wings & Mushroom Potage Soup

We woke up to a lovely morning and we went on our morning walk. We walked to our regular coffee shop, stopped for our regular cup of coffee and walked back home. It was a short walk because we had a breakfast appointment with a close friend of ours.

Morning sky at 7:28 am

Morning sky with the sun at 7:38 am.

White Frangipani flowers by the roadside.

White eggplants or brinjals harvested from my garden.

~~~~~

Breakfast with friend.

Our friend took us to Restoran 1010 in Taman Kampar, Ipoh new town.

We ordered 3 bowls of Hor Hee noodles.

It has been ages since I last tasted a good Hor Hee noodle.

For extra oomph, I added the bird's eye chilies into my bowl of noodle. Thanks to my friend, I know where to find nice Hor hee noodles.

~~~~~

Afternoon snack.

Hubby went to Bercham to meet his friend and brought back 4 pieces of yummy snack for me. They were still warm and the inside still soft and gluey.

I love the sweet, soft and gluey "neen koh" sandwiched between taro and sweet potato and surrounded with crunchy batter.

~~~~~

Simple home cooked dinner for 2 people

Baked 5 pairs of pre-marinated chicken wings.

Baked chicken wings, Campbell's mushroom potage soup, and some leftover fried prawns from previous day's dinner. We couldn't finish the chicken wings and kept the remaining in the fridge.

Linking to Friday Bliss & Skywatch Friday.

He never needs the daily blood of animal sacrifices, as other priests did,

to cover over first their own sins and then the sins of the people;

for he finished all sacrifices, once and for all,

when he sacrificed himself on the cross.

(Hebrews 7:27, The Living Bible-TLB)