Happy Valley Seafood Theme Park Hotel RWG

Oh where oh where,

would you find

live seafood.

In tanks.

To pick at your fancy...

On top of a mountain? :)

These grass prawns.

Are scrambling all over each other.

EAT ME.

I'm superbly fresh.

I mean,

them.

Not I of course.

Claypot beancurd with seafood.

Big on ingredients.

And I mean for both the former and the latter.

Fried slices of garoupa.

Thick slices.

But these were battered.

I'd rather just have them plain and simple.

Plum sauce chicken.

This was a specialty

And rightfully so.

Satisfyingly huge portion.

Crispy battered skin on.

And they were skimping on the chicken either. :)

Sambal kangkong.

Oh my yum.

Perfectly fried.

Wok-hei-ed.

And no traces of skimpy washing of the vegetables.

Crunchy.

Savoury.

Sambal-ed.

If you take vegetables.

Make this a definite order.

And these babies? 

Sorry to be cruel.

But you died amidst a lot of fanfare. 

We loved you.

Very much.

Steamed with egg

And another 300grammes in superior stock.

Nothing superior about the stock, believe you me.

But these cost us barely a little more than SGD 10.

Seriously.

To lo chuay?

So the pinyin is terrible for hokkien.

But.

Where to find! 

And that was a pre concert feast.

Emil Chau was better than we all expected. 

A pure two and a half hours of his greatest hits, his new releases, his change in singing perspective.

Just soaking in the electrifying charge of his fans.

I'm a convert.

First concert of the year with the 'rents and our beloved family friends.

It's been a rough week for us but they made it all better.

<3 p="">

lim seng lee

For some reason. Even the iPhone has fallen in love with the food here.

I'd much prefer more taste, less starch?

But look at the queues.

It's a je ne sais quoi situation.

And can't explain the awesome unedited pictures otherwise. :)

Whampoa Market at 92 Whampoa Drive

With a text message like that, i was worried. Was my friend by any chance pregnant?!

(She's single so being preggers would be a disaster.)

Thankfully, it was just a craving.

Where could be a place that would have everything she wanted? Oh but of course, at Whampoa Market. Out of the way, but when a craving strikes, the call must be answered before it manifests itself in different ways. Oh the hazards of humans.

So taking trains, cabs and walks, we individually made our way over to Whampoa Market at 92 Whampoa Drive. Just a side note, typing the name made me wonder how an American would pronounce it (wham-po-ah?) and how ridiculous a word it seems. Almost as if it were a nonsense word.

But anyway, here we go with dinner tonight.

BBQ chicken wings. Hot off the charcoal grills. Juicy. Tender. With a dip into that sour spicy garlic chilli concoction. Immense satisfaction for an appetizer.

Hokkien Mee. I'm hokkien. And I love my MEE! :)

Today's version was a little drier. I probably got the first/last batch off the wok. With the peanut chilli sambal that never seems to be enough.

Oh yum. Hainanese chicken. Skin with that bit of bite. Fragrant chicken oil mixed with light soy sauce. And a non typical chilli dip. I liked this more than I thought I would!

A measly portion of stingray and a miserable excuse for sambal kangkong. They definitely won't be seeing me again.

And because so many people were making orders for cockles. We needed to have a hand in the blood war. Indulgences. In moderation. Keep these away from me for the next half a year please!

All that for dinner. Dinner for just two.

A false alarm of pregnancy.

An enjoyment of local fare at hawker centre prices.

Just before we leave. Another order for a takeout of half a dozen chicken wings please. Two to have on the spot just because it was irresistable, leaving four to go. Mmmyum!

Satay would've completed our meal. Some rojak?

Or maybe some local dessert.

And maybe we need to exercise a little bit of moderation.

A sense of achievement for having kept our KOI drinks, skipping the satay, rojak and dessert.

All that for next time!

That's moderation, innit? :)

Organic Dinner @ The Frangipani Resort and Spa Langkawi

Walking past a frangipani tree reminded me of...

That pretty white flower by any other name would smell as sweet, taste as good.

Signatures of the resort- The Frangipani Flower Tea and Deep Fried Frangipani Flower.

It was a mild tasting tea akin to a camomile. Very soothing. Honey/ Sugar syrup for add-ons if you'd like. And a very good tea to wash away excess oil from...

Snacking on frangipani fritters. Dipped in a honey mayonnaise mustard dip.

Crunchy savoury meets creamy sweet. You just can't stop munching on them. Well, I couldn't and there was no reason to stop really. Appetizers have been taken to a new standard.

There was of course, the traditional Malay Salad- Ulam: Malay word meaning eating vegetables raw and bitter. This salad is characterized by additions of the banana heart and leaves of the Centella asiatica.
This was served with a spicy side dip of pungent sambal cincalok to whet our appetites before the main courses.

The creamed vegetable soup (Asparagus/spinach/ broccoli? My memory fails me) was a savoury light soup even with the addition of cream.

And there was of course a familiar favourite of spicy kangkong.

Organic wasn't just about vegetables.

Simply stated, organic produce and other ingredients are grown without the use of pesticides, synthetic fertilizers, sewage sludge, genetically modified organisms, or ionizing radiation. Animals that produce meat, poultry, eggs, and dairy products do not take antibiotics or growth hormones.

Fear not, for organics include meat and boy did we have our protein fix.

Dry beef rendang which I've read to be served for ceremonial occasions or to honour guests (Us!) :) It was full of beefy flavour and those who enjoy chewing on those tasty tendons, there was a lot of that in addition to pure unadulterated meat.
Sweet and sour fish. This was not the one big fish that we expected by little fish that resembled baby discus fish. I cannot recall the English name of the fish but the Hokkiens would know it was pek kia. Covered in a savoury sweet sour sauce with brightly coloured vegetables, it lit up the table even in the dim light of candles in our cosy dining environment.
And last but not least, the sesame chicken. Each piece was evenly covered with marinade, fragrant with the smell and taste of toasted white sesame. It was a juicy piece of meat bursting with flavours every single helping.

Even if you don't stay at the Frangipani Resort and Spa, you really should drop in on their restaurant when in Langkawi. You'd be guaranteed to be well fed just like we were. On organic food, no less. *rubs tummy