Poppo Kanteen 3

We did not get to try the mutton curry and beef rendang during our visit 1 and visit 2 so we went there again just for these two dishes. The price of nasi lemak with mutton curry or beef rendang is more than then price of the items (in the a la carte menu) when ordered separately so we went with the more affordable option.

Mutton curry - MYR9.90 nett. This is the usual sized rice bowl and I am surprised to find about 4 big chunks of mutton in it with two wedges of potatoes. The meat can be considered tender but it is sticking to a piece of membrane which is quite tough to chew (the membrane). I don't think I dare to order this dish again because the mutton is too much for both of us to handle.

Beef rendang - MYR6.90 nett. The slices of beef is not as tender as the mutton but still manageable. The taste is unlike the taste of beef rendang that we are used to. We detect a strong ginger taste in this dish which is not present in the beef rendang that we have eaten before at other eateries.

Deep fried egg - MYR1.50 nett with very crispy edges but with a runny yolk.

Plain white rice with a piece of chip (keropok) - MYR1.80 nett and we ordered two plates of this since we had a lot of curry and rendang sauces to finish.

Deep fried shallots on top of the rice. The height of the rice block is the same as that of a usual table spoon which means there is a lot of rice. We should have just ordered one plate of rice and either mutton or beef to share because we had difficulty finishing all the food.

White coffee (cold) - MYR4.90 nett. I think cane sugar is used to prepare this giving it a richer taste.

Total bill - MYR26.80 nett for two

Photo to show that the bowl used for the mutton curry is a small usual sized rice bowl.

Creatures of habit

The Zun Express is one of our frequent place to eat at whenever we are at Midvalley Mall. One of the set lunch meal that we like to order to share between the two of us is the Yee Fu Noodle set which includes a drink and a dessert priced at MYR18.80++ and we will order a soup to go with it at a special price of only MYR8++ so the total price inclusive of 10% service charge and 6% GST is MYR31.25 nett.

A set meal shared by two.

The greens are hidden beneath the noodle

Osmanthus Jelly with Goji (Wolfberry) and  a drink (part of the set)

Credit card payments are accepted for bills above MYR50 only

Please click on the photo above to view a larger version. Since it was nearing CNY at that time, they also included Jelly Fish Yee Sang (MYR28++), Salmon Yee Sang (MYR48++) and Steamed Rice with Chinese Sausage set meal (Lap Mei Fan at MYR22.80++) in their menu. Although we ordered the Lap Mei Fan in 2014 and 2015 at MYR19.80++ for both years, this year we skipped it.

Aroma Nyonya

As you all know by now, I have a soft spot for Nyonya kuih and lucky for me, there are quite a few "brands" of Nyonya kuih that sell tasty kuih in KL, namely Nyonya Colors (eatery) and Lulu (kiosk) - both are available in Midvalley Mall that I visit weekly. However, my favourite Nyonya kuih are those from Aroma Nyonya who distributes their kuih to other eateries and coffee shops.

I used to buy Aroma Nyonya kuih from Melaka Corner at One Utama or Mama Nyonya at IPC shopping centre. Recently I found out that a local coffee shop has started selling kuih from Aroma Nyonya at a better price than those eateries in shopping malls so now I just buy from the local coffee shop but I need to be early or else the kuih will all be sold out by 9.30 am. There is a stall in O&S coffee shop at Paramount Garden, PJ that sells Aroma Nyonya kuih too. All the photos below are kuih from Aroma Nyonya.

Various Aroma Nyonya kuih

Talam Keladi (Yam)

Bingka Ubi (Cassava Root - Ubi Kayu)

Ang ku, Talam and Getuk Getuk (made from ubi kayu)

The transparent plastic case containing Aroma Nyonya kuih has the words "Aroma Nyonya" embossed on it.

More and more discounts

I find the pineapple tarts that were sold in the Klang Valley for the CNY celebrations too expensive for me so I did not buy any. Then I went up to Penang and spied with my little eyes a container of pineapple rolls in my sibling's house which I proceeded to attack because they are very tasty, melt in the mouth buttery texture and with sweet sourish pineapple jam fillings.

My sibling then told me that one container costs MYR28.80 and if you buy two, you get MYR10 off so bearing this in mind I went to Queensbay Mall 3 days before CNY and sought out the stall that is selling them. To my delight, they were giving more discounts - MYR8.80 off every container of CNY cookies so after tasting a few types of CNY cookies, I bought one container of pineapple rolls (26 rolls) for MYR20 and one container of cheese pineapple rolls for MYR22 (26 rolls) after MYR8.80 off each of them.

When my sibling heard that there were more discounts, I was urged to buy more so we went again 2 days before CNY and the price was down to MYR15 per container of CNY cookies. To my disappointment, all the pineapple rolls were sold out but all was not lost for there were pineapple balls cookies left with 28 balls in a case for MYR15 only. What a steal! So I bought another two cases. The main difference between the rolls and balls is that the balls have more pastry dough.

Now I still have a few left of each and I am treating them like gold. Eating only one each every 2 days to make them last longer.

4 in the end

Do you like cheesy pineapple rolls?

MYR8.80 off making them MYR22 and MYR20 each after discounts.

Instead of 6 rolls each layer, they give only 5 rolls with a plastic roll in the middle.

7 balls for each layer making it 28 balls in a case

It does not taste as dry as it looks.

From MYR26.80 to MYR15 - What a steal! Keep the best for last. I will look out for this stall again next CNY.

HOHO

I have been on the Hop-On Hop-Off double decker bus tour of Edinburgh and Brussels so I thought why not go on one locally and bought a 24 hours Hop-On Hop-Off ticket for a tour of Penang on CNY Day 3.

There are two routes - City and Beach and I took both routes as I did not hop off during any of the routes. The City route took about 2 hours (if there is no traffic congestion) and the Beach route took about 2 and a half hours. The first bus starts from Gurney Drive at 9 am and I bought my ticket on the bus.

The 24 hours ticket for me costs MYR19 nett.

I sat in the top front part. The back part is fully covered with air conditioning. Luckily that day was not a very sunny day.

View of hanging lanterns from below

Spotted a quadricycle.

The beach route goes all the way up to Teluk Bahang Dam.

McD Tropical Pie

I started off with the taro pie in 2014. Then it was the blueberry pie, followed by the spinach pie and lychee pie in 2015. Just recently it was the pineapple pie and now when I noticed a new pie on the menu, I just could not help myself knowing full well I may not like it, I proceeded to buy it.

This time McD has redesigned the packaging. Now there is a perforated strip in the middle of the packaging for us to easily tear the packaging into half. I forgot to take a photo of it and straightaway break the pie into two and ate one part. The other half I gave to my spouse. As can be seen from the photo above, the pastry is a bit white (doughy) on the inside which I like.

This Tropical Pie has fillings made of Red Dragon Fruit (the purplish pink colour), Pineapple (I could not detect any such taste) and Nata De Coco Bits (I did come across very few pieces of these bits). Overall this is a pleasant pie to eat as there is no overpowering taste, just a mildly sweet taste.

MYR2.90 nett

KFC's two bowls

I read about KFC's Sambal Rice Bowl & Loaded Potato Bowl on "Eat what, Eat where?" and wanted to try them. On CNY Day 10, I noticed that these two items are still on the KFC's Value Treats menu at MYR5.50 nett (for one) and so went in and bought one each as takeaways.

Top View. Left: Loaded Potato Bowl. Right: Sambal Rice Bowl. Bottom: Empty Cup for Size Comparison.

A standard sized cup as compared to a KFC bowl.

I gave the Sambal Rice Bowl to my spouse. He finished the whole bowl leaving only a tablespoonful of sambal for me. I find the sambal more sweet than spicy.

I had the Loaded Potato Bowl instead with chunks of deboned crispy chicken, sweet corns, cheese sauce on top of mashed potatoes. I could not decide whether the white sauce is sour cream or mayonnaise because its taste was overpowered by the cheese sauce. The usual brown gravy you find in KFC's mashed potatoes is not present in this bowl. After googling, I find that there are a few versions of this Loaded Potato Bowl in KFC outlets around the world, some even with bacon bits inside.

As I like to eat cheese and mashed potatoes, I find the taste of this Loaded Potato Bowl acceptable but after having half a bowl, I was satiated (jelak). I have foreseen this so I did not eat directly from the bowl but scooped out half into another bowl to eat so that I can keep the original half as shown in the photo above into the fridge.

The next day (after a full 24 hours), I ate the rest cold. It was a bit watery and tasted saltier than the previous day but I am fine after consuming it. In a nutshell, if you are ok with mildly spicy food, then the Sambal Rice Bowl is a better choice for you. Only attempt to eat this Loaded Potato Bowl if you love KFC's mashed potatoes and you love cheese too.

Total price for these two bowls - MYR11 nett

Educational CNY decor

Today is the last day of the CNY celebrations so here's wishing Happy Chap Goh Mei to those celebrating it.

Apey New Year at IPC (Ikano Power Centre) Shopping Centre

Can you spot the bananas?

At first I wonder why IPC designed these 5 monkey characters with its own wooden statue.

Please click on the image above to enlarge it to find out who these 5 monkeys are.

Papa JinXu (Metal Monkey) encourages you to recycle metal. IPC even made a wooden figure of Papa JinXu as can be seen at the left of the photo above.

About recycling metal

Mama Tutti (Earth Monkey) encourages you to plant trees - see the mama monkey smiling so sweetly on the bottom right of the photo above.

Benefits of planting trees.

Please save energy - says Big Brother, the Fire Monkey

About saving energy

Please conserve water - says Sister Shweedy (Water Monkey)

Easy ways to conserve water

Please recycle paper - says Little Brother, the Wood Monkey

How to recycle papers

IPC's CNY decorations do not look very interesting from a top view but I think it is the best because it educates us through the monkeys to take good care of the earth. Very good work by IPC's decor team!