Its My Day Today!

Its my birthday last May 30 at huling idad ko na nasa kalendaryo pa. hehe. Now, I'll try to tell as much facts about me as much as I can .....

1.  I was born on May 30, 1979 at exactly 5:17am
2.  30 months lang yung nakalagay sa birth certificate ko, that means i was born prematurely at 7 months. No wonder kulang kulang ako at times .... ay medyo madalas din pala (ayaw ko lang aminin, hehe) 
3. My whole name is Djohanna Marie Arnaldo San Diego-Marinas. Now with the inclusion of my husbands' surname. Sabi ng mama ko, kuya ko daw ang nagpangalan sa kin. Galing sa isang character sa comics na lagi nyang binabasa. Moanna Marie actually. Pangalan ng babaeng unggoy na character sa comics. Oh di ba ang bait bait ng kuya ko? Pinaganda lang ni mama at ginawang Djohanna.
4. I am the second child of Reynaldo San Diego Sr. and Elisa Arnaldo. 29 si papa nun at 27 naman si mama nung pinaganak ako. 
5. Madami akong nickname. Joan obviously galing sa pangalan ko, Boyang bansang naman sa kin nung maliit ako at sakitin daw ako. Boy kasi palayaw ng papa ko at sabi nila, kamukha ko daw si papa kaya Boyang. Dj dagdag na palayaw ko na binansag ng 2nd year hs teacher namin na si Mrs. Marquez.
6. Sabi ng mama ko, meron daw kami dapat na kapatid na twin brothers. Pagitan namin ni kuya. Kaso di nya daw kaya kaya she had a forced abortion when the twins was 5 months old.
7. We have a plus one. Si Ryan. Adopted nila mama and papa. Kaya 3 kaming magkakapatid.
8. Tabachoy ako nung maliit hangang high school. Napaka takaw ko kasi. Kinukwento nga ng tita ko kahit ketchup lang ulam dami ko nakakain na kanin, hehe.
9. Napakahilig ko din sa matamis, lalo na ngayon. Pag malungkot ako o stressed, chocolate, cake o kaya ice cream ang pangpasaya ko.
10. Mahilig akong kumanta. Nung maliliit pa kami pag may reunion, pinagkakakitaan ko ang pagkanta, hehe.
11. Hindi ako marunong sumayaw, parehong kaliwa paa ko at di ako marunong sumabay sa tugtog, hehe.
12. I studied at La Consolacion College Caloocan from Kinder to Highschool kaya naman meron akong Loyalty Medal, hehe.
13. Pinaka hate ko na subject ang Math at Pinaka gusto ko naman History.
14. Ayoko ng Math pero nung college, Accounting Major ako sa UE - Caloocan. Batch 2000 ako.
15. Hinihimatay ako ng pagdidiet nung high school hangang college. Pag sinabi ko kasing hindi ako kakain, di talaga ako kakain. Kaya ayun hinihimatay ako sa gutom, hehe.
16. Hindi ako umattend ng college graduation ... lets just say medyo bitter ako nun, haha
17. Luha, pawis at kamuntik ng dugo ang naging pumuhan ko para maging board passer. Ang masasabi ko lang, totoo yung kapag sa yo, sa yo talaga. In God's right time.
18. Im still working at my first office, Hammonia Shipagency dati, naging Philippine Hammonia, at ngayon BSM Crew Service Centre Phils, Inc. na. Mag 8 years of service na ko this year.
19. Sa opisina ko din nakilala ang aking mahal na asawa. Nag cadet sya dati sa office bago naging seaman.
20. Si Mark ang una at huli kong boyfriend. Sya lang kasi ang nagkaroon ng tapang na ligawan ako, haha.
21. Parehong May ang birthday namin. May 16 sya at May 30 naman ako, two weeks apart lang. Same year din, 1979 at laging pareho ng araw birthday namin. Katulad this year, parehong linggo birthday namin. 
22. Pareho na kaming walang papa. Papa ko namatay, July 20, 2004 then si Papa Mario naman August 20, 2004 parehong dahil sa sakit.
23. Kinasal kami December 15, 2007 sa Victoneta Chapel dito sa Potrero Malabon. Mag 5 years na din kami mag-bf nun.
24. Mag boy friend at girl friend pa lang kami ni Mark ay nag wiwish na ko na sana kung magkakaanak kami in the future ay baby girl na kamukha nya. Kaya si Marianna ay wish came true. Pati blood type ay nakuha sa Daddy nya.
25. Wala akong alam sa gawaing bahay nung nag asawa ko. Pero instinct na lang yata talaga at di naman kailangan pang ituro. Natuto ako magluto at mag alaga ng bata ng nag asawa at nagka anak na ko.
26.  Kagaya nung nag aaral pa ako, opisina bahay lang din ang buhay ko. Di ako gumigimik. Nakakapasyal lang ako pag may bibilhin na kailangan na gamit ni Marianna o kaya naaaya ng kita kits ni Bff Peachy.
27. Hindi ako imiinom ng kape. Pero ngayon ... mukhang mag babago na to. Napapainom kasi ako ng kape sa umaga pag kulang sa tulog o nanlalata.
 

 Konti na lang at mapupuno ko na din hangang no. 31 ....

Kow Po Coffee Shop, Bentong

We were at Chamang waterfalls recently, to enjoy the cool water and sound of water gushing down the stream. Very therapeutic :p

As the weather gets warmer, we decided to leave Chamang falls and detoured to Bentong.

I recalled my boss mentioning a famous homemade ice cream shop in Bentong and promptly asked for the shop's name. Luck was on our side, we were right in front of the shop when I called her.

Kow Po was super pack, we had to share table..

With over 30 years of experience in ice cream making under their belt, we had to try many flavours of the ice cream, right? I was told that their durian ice cream was fantastic, alas, it was not available (not durian season).

We had the ice kacang topped with chocolate ice cream

The shaved ice was a treat on such a hot day, the syrup was not too sweet and generous with toppings. The chocolate ice cream, one of the most popular flavour there, was velvety smooth, not cloyingly sweet and had a slight bitter choc after taste. Don't expect strong flavours, Kow Po's version was light.

We ordered a platter of 5 scoops to try the many other flavours..

We had the pandan, banana, sweet corn, coconut and peanut flavours. One thing I noticed about Kow Po's ice cream was it's thick and creamy, I actually felt rather full eating just one scoop as it was rich. The flavours are all light, you can taste the freshly blended ingredients in the ice cream. If you are used to the strong flavours (artificial) of commercial ice creams, you may not be a fan of this. Most of us liked the banana ice cream the best, it felt like eating frozen, blended banana. Least popular was peanut as it was slightly salty- I'm a fan of peanuts, so it was ok to me. Felt like eating smooth, frozen fah sang wu (peanut paste).

The owner, Mr Tan Kow Po, was very sweet to treat us to an extra scoop of chocolate ice cream, seeing us enjoying the ice creams so much :p. Thanks Mr Tan!

Our bill for the ice creams and ice kacang was RM13.50. Cheap, I wondered if they miscalculated.. :p

There were still other flavours (strawberry, vanilla etc) available, but we were too stuffed to try..

Gary who was hungry, had a plate of cucur udang with peanut sauce.

Just average.

Kow Po Coffee shop is located at No 2, Bentong Heights, 28700 Bentong, Pahang. Here's the map..

Euro Deli, Damansara Kim

A pleasant, family place for some porcine goodness at a reasonable price, Euro Deli has always enjoyed a steady stream of loyal customers.

A not so loyal customer like yours truly, aherm, only popped by recently hearing that the damansara kim branch went through renovation and is a much larger restaurant now. And I was pleasantly surprise that now it does look like a proper family restaurant, seating more than double it's previous size.

As we were still full from lunch, we could only manage a main each, no starters nor desserts.

Some hot rolls on the house while waiting for our mains..

Soft bread with lightly salted butter.

It didnt take that long for our mains to arrive..
I had the Emmenthaler Sausage (pork sausage), RM19

Came in 2 nice, plump pork sausages and 3 sides. The sausages was delicious, it was not too salty and oozing with light cheese filling. The sides, which was usually unappreciated, won us over with it's simple (not too sour) sauerkraut, good sampling version of potato egg salad and coleslaw.

Amy ordered a Pork Chop (RM23)

Thick slab of pork chop smothered with creamy mushroom sauce. The pork chop was solid, with the right amount of chewiness and was quite juicy. The sauce was an excellent accompaniment to the pork, we almost lapped everything up :p

I'm glad that Euro Deli's food still remains satisfactory even though I've not stepped in for ages. Amy, who have never tried Euro Deli's selection before was suitably impressed.

Euro Deli is located 41, Jalan ss20/11, Damansara Kim. They have other branches around PJ and KL too.

Seafood at Miri town

Miri was a stop over before we flew to Mulu.

A quiet town, it was quite easy to explore this town was by foot. As Bollywood Queen did a last minute cancellation to join us, we didn't really know what's good in Miri..so we followed the easy rule to find a good makan..walk around and see where's crowded :p

The first dinner place came about when I was in my hotel room and I took a look at the hotel's surrounding. I noticed that this restaurant has customers trickling in at 5pm. Food should be good ;p

So we popped by Shanghai Seafood centre..

We were recommended to try the '3 types vegetables' (RM10)

I had the impression it'll be like the '4 heavenly kings' sort of dish, but to my surprise it came in 3 sections- bidin ccoked in thai sauce, stir fried vermicelli in some local veg and stir fried cassava leaves with egg. A nice variety to try, but I thought the bidin sauce was too sweet. The stir fried cassava was top notch, the wok hei was fantastic for this dish.

Since it's a 'Seafood centre', we had to order some right?

Had the steam prawns (RM14)

Oversteamed. Such a waste. Rather ex too for 7 midsized prawns...

Since many tables had crabs, we decided to order 1 each :p

Cooked in their sambal, sweet spicy sauce, the crabs were so fresh and sweet. The springy flesh goes very well with the thick, spicy sauce. The sauce was extremely addictive- had hints of sour plum sauce too- was somewhat different from those I've tried in Peninsular. And the happiest part of this meal? This big plate of crabs only costs us RM14 :D

Our second dinner was chosen as the restaurant was really packed with customers..

Located in the city centre, Meng Chai is hard to miss during dinner time.

We chose the seafood from the front counter and asked for some recommendations..

But it was ultra busy, the lady didn't have time to recommend much :(

We ordered some veggies while waiting for the seafood..

Local bidin with stir fried with belacan..

This was way better than Shanghai Seafood's version in thai sauce.

We still liked a portion of the cassava leaves stir fried with egg..

Pretty good but not as delicious compared to Shanghai Seafood's.

We asked for some mantis prawns and squids cooked in belacan (RM20)

A large portion given the fact that the mantis prawns had been shelled. The flavour was just ok, there was not much spiciness or pungentness of sambal belacan.

Every table had a large plate of foiled dish..And we got ours too..Giant river prawns cooked in chinese wine (RM28 for 2 prawns). The river prawns here are humongous, it's head was the size of my fist. The wine was strong but aromatic, the prawns was ultra fresh, the flesh was very bouncy and the thick roe melted into the sauce perfectly. So very unforgettably scrumptious, you must order this if you're at Meng Chai's.

Shanghai Seafood Centre is located at 544, South Yu Seng Road, Miri, Sarawak.

Meng Chai Seafood is located at Jalan Merbau

Get To Know Your Lobsters

I remember the beginning of my love affair with lobster. My grandmother took me out to a San Francisco restaurant all by myself and said I could order anything I wanted. So I asked for lobster! When the waiter set the blazing orange crustacean before me, I just gaped. The waiter astutely offered discreet help in cracking it open for me. Simple boiled lobster with clarified butter—I was hooked!

Since then I’ve discovered that in addition to the well-known Maine variety, there are other sweet, succulent lobsters to enjoy, be they boiled broiled, sauced, souped, or in salad. Basically they fall into two main types, the clawed lobsters (like those from Maine and thereabouts) and the spiny lobsters.

Two different species of clawed lobsters can be found, the American and the European. While overall size is similar, the European lobsters are usually darker and with smaller claws. Their American cousins are found in the cold waters of the North Atlantic Coast from Newfoundland and allegedly as far south as North Carolina. They head for deeper waters in fall and shallower in spring. Their camouflage greenish black shells turn a characteristic bright orange when boiled.

While they may be called “Maine lobsters” in sea food markets and restaurants, I’ve eaten many caught right of the coast of New Hampshire, where I vacationed for several summers, and Cape Cod folks do the same! You get more meat with the clawed lobsters, which is a plus. You can buy the lobster whole, one-clawed (you’ll have to guess what happened to the second claw), just tail, or just claws.

Scientifically speaking, these are not “true” lobsters, nor even closely related to them, and are called “crayfish” in some countries. These denizens of warmer waters can be identified by their very large antenna, lack of claws, and a harder shell.

The spiny lobsters are found in Caribbean waters and off the coast of California as far north as Santa Barbara, as well as in New Zealand and South Africa. They have gained particular fame as the famous “Australian lobster.” They are the most important food export of the Bahamas. Whole, they weigh about two pounds, and the meat is found just in the tail. Gastronomically speaking, they are delicious and tender!

If you want to buy a whole live lobster in the US, you are likely to find the Maine and California lobsters the most easily available when placing a seafood order. You can buy frozen and fresh lobster tails, often called “Australian,” all year long.

The great thing is that they all work just fine in most any of your favorite lobster recipes, from chowder to lobster Newburg. Bon appétit!

Bandariya Ayam Kampung, KL

There aint that many ayam kampung shops around when we do crave for it during office lunch hours.. the closest we could think of was Bandariya, which is located at the Lebuh Ampang/ Masjid Jamek area..

Though it's full house, the ayam kampung served was cold. I really liked mine piping hot, so I was slightly disappointed with this. The meat was springy, sweet and slightly chewy, while the skin was a tad salty.

The Daging Kerutuk (RM4 per piece)

The beef was melt in mouth and had absorbed the richness of the spices. The creamy, thick kuah was wonderful with white rice. Delicious.

My must order whenever I'm here..

The ikan bilis (RM4)

Although the deep fried anchovies was cooked with spicy sweet sambal, the anchovies and peanuts retained it's crunchiness. So very good :)

Sayur dalca (RM5)

Another tasty dish. The sauce was light, fragrant and the veggies soaked in the yummy sauce. I practically drenched my rice with the dalca.

Diha addiction..

Freaking spicy bomb that could make a person sweat buckets in 10 seconds. The sambal belacan was potent, but a good match with the crisp cool cucumber and beansprouts. Not on the house though, sambal belacan is chargeable at RM1 per plate.

Overall a yummy meal though I feel that other dishes here outshone the ayam kampung...

Bandariya Ayam Kampung is located at No 8, Jalan Tun H S Lee, 50000 Kuala Lumpur.

Summer Vacations - A Retrospective and Advice

As we head toward Memorial Day and summer and are planning for a vacation in a tough economy, I realized I had not shared the fun and food from last year's Dowd Beach Week, and I definitely wanted to do that. But I decided that I wanted to do it in a way that would help readers get the most out of their vacation dollars. So here is my advice for a great vacation:

1) Take you time and find the right place - The Outer Banks of North Carolina are within a 3-hour drive of our home and since everyone in our family loves the beach, it is a logical place for a vacation. If your family is more a mountain climbing, or hiking, or kayaking, that is fine too, just pick a place and then enlist the experts. Our family makes choosing a place a big deal, after all, we really only do one vacation a year and so we want to get the most for our money. For a large group, renting a house is a much better deal than a hotel, it gives you room to spread out and you can prepare many of your meals in, which saves a great deal of money. We request catalogs from several different rental companies, look at houses in the areas and with the features we want in our price range, and narrow the list down. If you are close enough, take a page from our book. We plan a day trip to look at the houses in person since often the photos in the catalog or online may not give you the full picture of the good or bad points of a house. It is also a great time to scout out the nearest supermarket, where a movie rental is or how far it is to the beach.

2) Don't be afraid to bargain - While some people work only with one realty company year after year, we always shop around looking for the best deal for us. We have worked with Resortquest (now part of Brindley), Brindley Beach, Kitty Hawk Rentals and Elan, and the last two years we have worked with Sun Realty, one of the oldest rental companies with properties in the Outer Banks. Choose some homes you like and then establish a relationship with a rental agent to see if the owner might be willing to make a deal. Most owners (and rental companies) would rather rent at a discount than have their homes set empty. Many realty companies, including Sun, have early and late season weeks that they offer at a discount, so that is a good place to start.

3) Make a list and Prepare - We have several "beach nights" to prepare and plan. We start with the list of lists (Food/Menus, Room Assignments and who is arriving when, things to pack, things to be done before we leave, etc), then we fill them out. Planning meals is one of the most fun parts- we discuss what we had the year before,what worked, what people loved and what went begging. I don't try to do real gourmet since it is my vacation too, focusing instead on the fresh produce and simple foods that are light enough for the dog days of summer.

All this led up to an amazing week for us last year in Whalehead, where the houses are set on larger lots, providing privacy. Our home was aptly named A Perfect Escape, and no wonder- decks faced the ocean with nearly unobstructed views, a large pool beckoned, ample parking allowed our family and friends to all gather and the house itself was decorated and outfitted for relaxation and fun. The breezes off the ocean and the sight and sound of the surf were visible from almost everywhere and the beach access was a mere 200 feet away from our door! The house was prepared, the linens were waiting, and we were lucky to be able to check in early so we had time to settle in before extended family and friends began to arrive. The people at Sun were very helpful, the house was well-equipped, and they even checked our pool and hot tub midweek.

As a surprise and to commemorate our family being together for vacation, I wanted to have t-shirts made, but by chance I got a random email from the Queensboro Shirt Company
and found that I could, for nearly the same price, have polos embroidered with a design of my choice. They were so easy to work with, and for new customers, the embroidery set-up is free!
Everyone was surprised and delighted with the shirts, which were high quality, soft and well-made... and were perfect fora family photo!

My advice for a summer vacation-take one! Even if money is tight, there are ways to cut costs, but still make the wonderful family memories that come with being away from the day-to day responsibilities and a change of scene.



Next....Beach food

Get Cheeky for the Halibut!

Everyone loves halibut -- that firm, white, mild fish that gives the chef great option as it can be grilled or baked, smothered in tasty sauces. But did you know that the most  succulent part of the Pacific halibut is the CHEEK?

That’s right, the cheek. Have you ever seen the head of a halibut? If you have, was it probably an adult, whose developmental pattern is rather incredible. At birth they have one eye one each side of the head and swim rather like a salmon. But when they reach six months, one of those eyes migrates to the other side, and they take on a flounder appearance.

Among flat fish, halibut is truly king, averaging some 24 to 30 pounds (and one monster halibut was recorded at a whopping 734 pounds). You can appreciate why these are favorites of sport fishing!

But I digress. Each halibut also has two cheeks, and this explains why halibut cheeks might at times seem a bit pricey compared to halibut fillets (which are just a wee bit less succulent). Sometimes you may have difficulty finding any, after all, cheeks are only two to a face! If you’ve ever seen these medallions from an Alaska halibut, you might think they were giant scallops. And indeed you can use them like scallops. Popular ways to fix them include sautéing, grilling or baking.

I love to buy fish and seafood, and the season for fresh halibut cheeks is now upon us (March – November). My own philosophy for these tender, savory morsels is that “less is more.” I just toss them in some seasoned flour and sauté them in a 2:1 mix of EVOO (extra virgin olive oil) and unsalted butter until lightly golden (just takes a few minutes). I squeeze a bit of fresh lemon over it, and sprinkle some capers and fresh ground pepper. With a leafy salad, or perhaps tender asparagus sprigs, and some orzo or rice, I’ve got a five-star meal in my own kitchen with a minimum of time investment and one simple seafood order.

halibut fillets and cheeks, I guess you could say that I am hooked!

When it comes to Pacific

seafood market, real or virtual, keep in mind that the respected environmental organization Seafood Watch has the Atlantic halibut on its “Avoid list,” and the wild-caught Pacific or Alaskan salmon on its “best choice list.” California halibut from hook-and-line and bottom trawl are on their “good” list. So make your choice—and bon appétit!

Note: When you are at the

If it's just a day in Hangzhou

It's not a If for me..I really did only allocated a day in Hangzhou when I was in China early this year. But when I reached Hangzhou, I regretted my decision....Hangzhou definitely needed more than a day, with it's breathtaking scenery and fantastic food.

And with only a day in Hangzhou, I've only got 2 main meals to spare :(..so I had to seek the more popular and raved about eateries in Hangzhou.

In between exploring the humongous Linyin Temple, to the majestic Feiyang Pagoda, the tranquil Westlake and the boisterous QingHefang street reminiscence of streets during the Song Dynasty, I had to ensure I had time to enjoy my meals too :p

After googling and reading reviews, I decided to try Grandma's Kitchen and Lou Wai Lou in Hangzhou.

We decided to have lunch at Grandma's Kitchen..Although we reached really late for lunch (after 2pm), it was still a crowd and everything smells so good (ok, I was darn hungry).

Everything looked delicious and we finally settled for 4 dishes.

Since Dong Po pork originated from Hangzhou, that was an obvious choice.

Grandma kitchen's version was amazingly scrumptious. This, to me, was the best dongpo pork I've ever tasted. We got individual servings, each square of pork was cooked to perfection- the top skin was springy, the mid fat was melting while the meat held it's shape but once we bit into it, the meat breaks and blends with the fat. The sauce was unforgettable too, different from Msia's version, the heady chinese wine mixed with the fatty gelatin left me craving for more.

Since Hangzhou is very near to Longjin, we decided to try the chicken cooked in Longjin tealeaves..Although the chicken looked dry, it was actually extremely succulent. The texture as somewhat like salt baked chicken, except that it's not salty, but had light flavours of longjin tea and herbs. The skin was crisps and thin. A tasty dish, but it was very oily at the base of the claypot.

Fresh doumiao to balance all the meat that we had..Nice and sweet.

The lotus stuffed with glutinous rice was a sweet dish that used to be a royalty dish..

We thought this looked really pretty, the soft steamed lotus roots drenched with osmanthus syrup. Too sweet for my liking.

The table next to ours had this dessert/ cake that looked interesting, so we ordered too.

It's green tea yam cake and it was delectable. The sesame seeds were deep fried until crackling and emanated such lovely aroma that paired perfectly with the slightly sweetish yam paste.

For dinner, we went to Lou Wai Lou, the oldest restaurant in Hangzhou. Overlooking the Westlake, this was a grand restaurant where, well, most local businessmen brings their guest to impress and tourists throngs in by the dozen. Though it was crowded, we could still walk in without making prior reservations.It was rather tough to order mains here as the portion was large and there's only 2 of us..

Tried some cold dishes- smoked fish and smoked duck..

Both was quite tasty- the meat was real cold and solid- so i like to slowly nibble and let the flavour seep in. WF didnt like the smoked fish though.

We were told to try the fish soup..And so we did. Almost like sharksfins soup, the broth was thick, brimmed with fish slices and slightly vinegary. Definitely whets the appetite.
Again, we tried Dongpo pork..Lou Wai Lou's version was good too. Nice tender pork with melting fat.But I still preferred Grandma's as they won my heart with that beautiful sauce. Lou Wai Lou however, does vacuum packed their dongpo pork and we can buy back to Msia. Very touristy but convenient.

We could only fit in one main dish and decided to try the westlake fish with vinegar sauce..

Looks unappetising and I didnt like this dish at all. The vinegar sauce was too strong, overpowering the fish flavours. And since this was a fresh water fish, some parts very rather 'muddy' in taste. We could not finish this at all.

Though Grandma's Kitchen was just a simple restaurant and didnt have a rich history compared to Lou Wai Lou, I preferred the food in Grandma's. Think LWL is overrated.

Grandma's Kitchen is located at Macheng Road, Hangzhou. They have a few branches in Hangzhou.

Lou Wai Lou is located at 30, Gushan Road, Hangzhou.

Happy Mothers Day !

Happy mothers day sa lahat ng mga mommy, mama, nanay, inay, mamu, mader, maderaka at inang ngayong araw ng mga ina. Mahirap pero masarap maging ina. Ito nga ang pinakamahirap na profession sa lahat, ang maging "full time mom". Pero dahil medyo kailangan ng karagdagang kita, madami na din na nanay na nag hahapbuhay at nag titiis na malayo sa kanilang mga anak. Maswerte ako at kahit nag tatrabaho ako ay umuuwi pa din ako araw araw para makita at makapiling ang mahal kong anak. Pag weekends, masaya ako at kasama ko sya ng mas matagal. Nakakapagod pero nawawala yung pagod ko habang pinapanood ko sya habang natutulog, sulit lahat ng hirap pag tumatakbo syang payakap sa akin, bale wala ang tumatagak tak kong pawis kakahabol sa kanya pag nakikita at naririnig ko syang tumatawa. Masarap maging nanay. Hindi ko masabi ng kungkreto gano ako kasaya. Pero eto yung tipo ng kaligayahan na di matutumbasan ng kahit na anong halaga ng material na yaman dito sa mundo. 

Happy mothers day din sa pinaka mamahal kong mama. Nag iisa lang sya at hindi ko din naman ipag papalit kahit kanino. Salamat sa lahat ng sakripisyo mo sa amin. Sa tingin ko naman ay mabuti akong tao at iyon ay dahil sa maayos nyong pagpapalaki sa akin ni papa. Mahal na Mahal ka namin ni Marianna. 

Happy mothers day Mama Wena. Salamat sa pag aalaga mo kay Marianna at maraming salamat at napalaki mo ang mahal kong asawa na responsable at may takot sa Diyos.

Happy mothers day sa lahat ng mga Nanay na patuloy na nag sasakripisyo at walang anumang hinihintay na kapalit. 

Cheers to all of us. 

May God bless us with good health, resilience and long life para patuloy pa natin magampanan ang ating tungkulin bilang mga Ina.

Seo Gung Korean BBQ, SS2

Alicia was craving for korean food some time ago and I got her to choose the venue.

Somewhere nearby and we ended up at Seo Gung.

Although this place seems to boast delicious BBQ, we were not in the mood for grilling meat hence we opted for ala carte meals instead.

Like any other korean restaurants, Seo Gung serves us banchan (side dishes)..in this case, we had 9 banchan. I liked the fried pumpkin and kimchi here. The rest were just ok.

Seo Gung had some interesting ala carte dishes and I asked for the 'Hangover soup with bones'. Most unfortunately, they didnt have that . Ok, what about spicy pork bone soup? No either? :(

Third choice, they must have this right? Ginseng chicken soup? Yes? yes...

The soup was mild, with light ginseng flavour that gave lovely bitter aftertaste which I liked about ginseng. The chicken was slightly over cook, the breast part was rather hard and chewy. Was a decent dish to warm an empty stomach.

Alicia got what she craved for..Bulgogi..

Good portion of sliced beef and lots of onions, carrots, mushrooms. Slightly rougher cuts, not very dainty. Alicia seems happy munching it down though.

Seo Gung Korean BBQ is located at 21M-23M (Mezzanine Floor), Jalan SS 2/67, Petaling Jaya 47300, Selangor.

Dim sum@ Jaya Palace, PJ

Whenever I crave for dim sum in PJ, it's not hard for me to decide on Jaya Palace. The dim sums there reminds me of those in HK (almost) and the portions are generous. On weekends, the restaurant is bustling- large families, children running about, peals of laughter can be heard frequently. Only thing missing was the pushcarts filled with piping hot dim sum.

Their dim sum menu had quite a selection of steamed dim sums, deep fried dim sums, porridge, noodles, appetizers and roasted meats to choose from. Since there's only 2 of us that day, I cant order that much :(

The har gau..

Thin skin with a generous filling of succulent prawns. Good way to start our brunch, piping hot prawns warmed our bellies immediately.

The special siew mai..

Jaya Palace's version reminds me of the siew mai served in Lin Heung, HK. Well, looks alike, but I must say, this one tasted better. There's 3 types of siew mai in this plate- one topped with pork liver, the other with stomach while the last was with quail egg. The toppings were not impressive, it was the meat that got my vote. The pork was chopped coarsely with mushroom and prawns-the combination was luscious, springy and delicious.

The deep fried turnip must be eaten fast..

The crust was nice and flaky when it's piping hot, it does feel a tad thick when it's cold. The filling of turnip came juicy, slightly mushy and aromatic, a nice contrast to the crunchy skin. I've tried this a couple of times and I noticed the filling differs on several occasions. Sometimes, it had a thin layer of cheese in it.

I was rather excited when I saw that steamed beef balls was in their menu..

Alas, it's not the texture I was looking for. Sure, the centre was pink and pretty, but the texture was rather fishball like, rather than the mince meat version that I much preferred. Taste wise, it was decent though, the beef was fresh and bouncy to bite.

For steamed spareribs lovers like me, please make sure you order this!

The sauce was light and aromatic with wine, the ribs was smooth and supple while the yam bits at the bottom of the plate came as a wonderful complement to the spareribs. Yums!

The stir fried carrot cake was a disappointment though..

We were so sure that it'll taste good as it smells excellent and looks mouth watering. Most unfortunately, it was too salty. I've never reordered this again on my other visits, maybe I will...one fine day.

The xiao loong bau on the other hand, got our votes..

The soup filling was robust and smooth, the meat moist and went delightfully with the vinegar sauce.

Another one of my must order- yam puff

An enjoyable version, the yam paste was velvety and the filling was not too salty.

Though we were stuffed, we had to end our meal with some desserts :p

The ubiquitous chilled mango puree with pamelo. I seriously had low expectations of this dessert, how different can it be? Yes, well, the ingredients were the same, but the preparation definitely made a difference. The puree was creamy and the texture was obvious from blended fresh mangoes. The level of sweetness was perfect, ie, not too sweet. Satisfying way to end the meal :).

I cant recall the exact amount we paid, but it averaged about RM30+ per pax.

Jaya Palace is located at Wisma LYL, Jalan 51a/223, Seksyen 51a, 46100 Petaling Jaya, Selangor. As Jaya Palace is a branch of Imbi Palace, guess PJ based fans of Imbi Palace dimsums have a closer alternative now.