Amex Fresh Mexican Cuisine @ One Precinct

We just got back from dinner at Amex. This is the 2nd time dining at this restaurant and definitely better than the previous visit. I finally used up the RM20 voucher purchased from Groupon as the expiry date is just around the corner.

We arrived about 6.45pm and there were already quite a number of patrons waiting for their food.

During our last visit, we ordered their burritos and arco and felt that the ones at Habanero @ Queensbay Mall were better. I did not like their Churros either although it was my first time having them.
This time round, we ordered Amex's Pork Nachos, Chicken Quesadilla and a cup of hot chocolate.

Seriously, I've tasted better hot chocolate than the one at Amex, but for the price you can't really complain.

Hot Chocolate (RM 3.00)

The Pork Nachos tasted okay, but a little on the sweet side according to my other half.

Pork Nachos (RM 9.00)

I like the Chipotle chicken quesadilla. The quesadilla came with salsa and corn as sides, with mayonnaise and Amex's homemade dipping sauce.

Chipotle Chicken Quesadilla (RM 8.00)

Smile!

I think Mexican cuisine is just not my thing. I don't appreciate them as much as Thai food or Italian food.
Will I come back again? Maybe...maybe not.. However if you are the adventurous kind, I suggest to give Amex Mexican Cuisine a try..;perhaps you will enjoy Mexican food.

Hubby's 30th Birthday

We had the usual cg at JJ & Elsie's place followed by the birthday celebration.
Here are some photos of that night:

The birthday boy (man)..

Restoran Yu Ai Seafood Noodles @ Segambut

This restaurant is famous for their seafood noodles. We arrived about 11am and there were already quite handful of people eating. We chose to sit outside since the weather was nice and windy.

Dad, mum and Eve ordered the normal bowl of noodles while hubs and I ordered a large bowl to share.

The soup came with a generous portion of salmon, prawns, mussels and jiu-hu (cuttlefish). To be frank, we found the curry was just so-so, rather oily. No doubt the portion is huge, but if left me feeling very thirsty after that.

Large bowl of curry kueh teow (RM 22.00)

FYI, a normal bowl costs about RM 19 and a large bowl of noodles costs RM 22.

The bill came to RM 86.80 including drinks.

Address:

Restoran Yu Ai

42, Jalan Segambut Utara

51200 Kuala Lumpur

Restoran Mei Yen @ Taman Paramount, PJ

Eve brought us to this restaurant on Friday night. In fact, she has brought dad and mum here during their last visit and they enjoyed the food at this place.

So, let me introduce to you the famous dishes here:

Fried La-la

Lala or clams are one of my sister's favourite dishes, especially when they are cooked with ginger and wine. The fried lala at this restaurant is simply awesome. The lalas were in abundance and the ginger-wine combination was superb. Albeit spicy, the dish really arouses your appetite and we can't stop scooping the gravy until the end. I was told that one can order lala soup as well.

Assam Sotong (Squid)

The assam sotong was good too. Love how they added the greens to the sotong dish. Yummy!

Hokkien Mee

The hokkien mee or hokkien noodle is unlike what we have in Penang. Do not get yourself confused. The hokkien mee in Penang actually refers to prawn mee in other parts of the country. 

I absolutely love the hokkien mee from this restaurant. The sauce is good and there were a generous amount of pork lard as well. Oh so sinfully delicious:)

Hokkien Fried Kueh Teow

As you can see this is not char kueh teow with bean sprouts and prawns, rather the kueh teow is cooked with gravy and then a raw egg is placed in the center. Before eating, you can mix the egg with the hot kueh teow and the egg will just cook from the heat from the kueh teow. 

The total cost for 4 dishes (all ordered large) came to RM 50. That's ridiculously cheap:) Now I know why this place is a gem and how they've stayed in business for so many years.

Address:

Restaurant Mei Yen

Jalan 20/7, Taman Paramount

47301 Petaling Jaya

Selangor

Cairnhill Hotel Kuala Lumpur

Hubs and I went to KL with my parents during the weekend. We stopped over a night before heading to Nilai the next day. Since we wanted to be near Eve, dad booked the newly opened Cairnhill Hotel at Jalan Ipoh.

This is a new hotel which had just opened last year in December.
We arrived around 6.20pm and took the lift from the carpark to the lobby. The check-in process was fast and smooth. My parents' room were on the 9th floor and ours at the 10th.

The Hotel Lobby

 There is a convenience store adjacent to the hotel.

Our room came with complimentary breakfast. Among the food served during breakfast were fried kueh teow, sausages, hash brown, baked beans, pastries and fruits.

We booked 2 standard rooms which came with a double bed. It was priced at RM118 nett per night. Our room was quite spacious and generally clean although it was rather weird to have a pillar in the middle of the room.

The bed is comfortable and the pillows are just nice, not too hard nor too soft.

Bathroom

Bath amenities

Overall, we had a pleasant stay. The staff were helpful and courteous.
The price of the rooms are reasonable and the location of the hotel is strategic as it is near many established eateries. If you are interested you can always book through the hotel website.

The many poses of Brownie..

I can never run out of things to say about my dog, Brownie. I guess being my very first dog I have ample of space in my heart for this little (not so little) fella. Seeing him daily makes me happy and there's something therapeutic about just looking at him, be in sleeping or just stroking him.

He is 3 years old now, and I hope he lives up to a good 15 years.
Here are some recent pictures I took of Brownie.

Cheat's Claypot Chicken Rice

Why did I call this cheat's claypot chicken rice? Simply because I did not use the usual clay pot over fire, but used the rice cooker instead. You can find many versions of this simple recipe online, but basically the ingredients and method of cooking are almost the same.

Ingredients (for  2 people, 1 meal)

200g chicken
4-5 pcs black mushroom (soaked and slice into strips)
1 pc salted fish (chopped into cubes and fried)
1 pc lap cheong (Chinese Sausage)
1 cup rice
2 stalks scallion (chopped)
3 inches ginger

Marinade for chicken (preferably 2-3 hours)
1 tbsp oyster sauce
2 tsp dark soya sauce
1 tsp light soya sauce
2 tsp Chinese cooking wine
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1/4 tsp sugar
5-6 dashes of white pepper (I put more since hubby and I love pepper)

Seasoning for rice
1 tbsp dark soya sauce
1 tsp oyster sauce
1 tsp light soya sauce

Method:
1. Chop chicken into bite pieces and marinate them. Leave them in the fridge for 2-3 hours.
2. Fry salted fish and put aside.
3. Wash rice and leave it to cook.
4. With 1/2 tsp oil, fry lap cheong until slightly burned and then keep aside.
5. Pour sesame oil into the heated pan and saute the ginger until fragrant. Put in the chicken and stir-fry until partially cooked.
6. Now add in the mushrooms, lap cheong and scallions and mix everything well.
7. When the rice is boiling, put the entire chicken-mushrooms-lap cheong combo into the rice cooker.
8. Once the rice is cooked, leave it for another 10-15 minutes before serving.
9. Serve with salted fish and additional scallions (if needed).

Taka Cake House

One of the shops we will pay a visit each time we are back in Kuching is Taka Cake House.Taka sells not only cakes but a variety of buns and biscuits as well.

This time I had a huge order of layer cakes from my colleagues. Taka's layer cakes are really delicious with generous usage of butter, hence they're really moist and yummy. Not only that, they come in many different flavours notably their peppermint layer, prune layer, Indonesian layer, chocolate and chocolate chip layer cake. In fact, some of my colleagues ordered their Tiramisu and Milo-cheese layer cakes. Both Tiramisu and Milo-cheese layer cakes costs around RM 28-RM 31 while the others range from RM 15 to RM 20.

I think layer cakes are great gifts for friends and family. You can find their selection of layer cakes and other goodies at their website (http://taka.com.my/).

John's Pie @ Jalan Song, Kuching

After having rice and noodles for a week, I was really looking forward to have something different for our last dinner before we leave Kuching. We stumbled upon John's Pie second outlet while we were pumping petrol at Jalan Song and decided to have pies for dinner.

Standing at the entrance, we took a quick look at the menu before entering the shop. The shop is rather small but cozy enough as they have only about 2-3 tables if you are thinking about dining in.

This shop sells not only pies, but also sandwiches, quiches, assorted pastries, salad and beverages as well.

Hubby ordered their Lamb Pie while I had their Signature Steak Beef Pie. We ordered their salad too.

Lamb Pie (RM 7.50)

Signature Steak Pie (RM 5.50)

While the filling (both lamb and steak beef) was delicious and generous, I felt that the crusts lack butter. The crusts was flaky alright, but when you put them into your mouth they weren't soft as I expected them to be. Well, for the price, size and filling, I still think it's worth the money:)

Will definitely come back again when we are in Kuching to savor other pies and quiches.