she, the epicuriousgirl.

was in miri, sarawak for a week for the chinese new year celebrations and on my last day, managed to catch up with an old friend over shaved ice desserts and some accompanying dishes.

when we were both in high school, some 7 years ago, our favourite place to have these cold drinks was at “Lian Yee Cold Drinks Centre” at Krokop 5, Miri. The place was packed when we arrived around 3p.m. Teatime, i suppose, or everyone just wants to cool down with a refreshing cold drink.

Having not visited in years, I didn’t really know what to order anymore so I decided to choose the “Special”, my favourite then. It’s basically a shaved ice dessert with coloured sago, jellies, canned fruit (pineapple, longan & lychee) topped with evaporated milk & rose syrup. Despite the enticing sound of the ingredients, the taste was disappointing. Quality has dropped drastically since I last had anything here. The dessert was too watered down and bland, and even the shaved ice was not fine enough. My friend had something similar to cendol which had coloured sago & jelly in it. Not sure what it’s called but it tasted weird to me. The coconut milk used doesn’t taste like the fresh type, which contributed to the weird taste. Both bowls of cold drinks cost RM2 each.

Apart from serving cold drinks, Lian Yee also serves accompanying dishes such as fruit rojak, sotong kangkung (鱿鱼蕹菜) and fried fritters platter(炸虾饼). We opted not to have the rojak and ordered the other two instead. The sotong kangkung is basically blanched water spinach/convolvulus with cuttlefish, served with sauce & ground peanuts. i thought this was quite good, with quite a generous serving of cuttlefish. The fried fritter platter of fried goodies such as prawn fritters, yam/taro fritters, sweet potato fritters etc were topped with a gooey sauce and peanuts. The plus point was that everything was freshly fried and hot, but the ratio of yam/taro & sweet potato fritters to that of prawn fritters was probably 10:1, so i thought that the cost of RM7 for the portion was not worth it.

frankly, the experience of eating here was disappointing as the quality has declined greatly over the years but thankfully, the company made up for it.

still stuffed from the birthday lunch, we decided to go around bangsar village before settling down at DELIcious, by Ms. Read for dinner. it was a good choice as the interior was inviting and i love the use of baby blues and whites which gave it a very clean and spacious feel. we opted to sit outside as it was a cool, breezy evening. the table we chose had benches with throw pillows on one side and single chairs on the other. my companions visibly relaxed as they allowed themselves to sink into the softness of the pillows.

only i ordered something apart from water as i was intrigued with the drink’s name - lemonade from the front yard. but it was just a few wedges of lemon served with carbonated water and some sugar syrup. we ordered the wild mushroom soup and garlic bread to share, along with two salads.

The Caesar Salad was recommended by the waitress and I liked the sound of the Roasted Duck and Pomelo Salad and that was how we got round to ordering those two. One could opt to add smoked salmon and chicken (i think) to the Caesar Salad but we took the original version with no additions. It came with generous servings of romaine lettuce leaves, bacon crackers, croutons, shaved cheese, a poached egg & anchovies. I think this was a crowd favourite as the two couples at the table beside us also ordered two plates, topped with smoked salmon, to share amongst themselves. it was rather interesting watching them as one of the couples were european and the other chinese. i think they amused themselves watching us 4 girls too as we were enjoying our food and the company.

As for the Roasted Duck & Pomelo salad, it had a thai flair to it as the dressing used was tangy in nature. Crushed peanuts, chilli bits, onion, chinese parsley/coriander were added to the roasted duck and pomelo bits. On the side, fresh iceberg lettuce quarters and zucchini slices were also served together. I loved the thai kick to the salad, and felt that eating it with the lettuce/zucchini acted as a refresher to the whole taste. my only grouse was perhaps the abundance of chinese parsley leaves in them, which left a strong aftertaste even though i had separated them. i’m just not a huge fan of coriander.

But the icing on the cake (pardon the pun), was perhaps the dessert, which was in a way my replacement birthday cake. I chose the pavlova thinking it was going to be topped with an assortment of berries, based on its name - Berrylicious Chocolate Pavlova but all i see were strawberries. Still it made the 4 of us very happy. The effect of sugar in the meringue, perhaps? Hehe. Nevertheless, I thought that the taste of the strawberries, whipped cream & meringue blended very well together.

Good food and cosy ambience aside, it was a wonderful outing as we took our time catching up and exchanging news. Great way to end the birthday.

other reviews on DELIcious, by Ms. Read:

- makansakan.com
- julianisms

i turned a quarter of a century yesterday and boy, did i pig out. my boss bought me lunch whilst my colleagues bought me dinner. and to think i have a few more upcoming birthday treats this week. how to lose weight before chinese new year lah?

lunch was at pizza uno and we ordered way too much for the 5 of us. i guess my boss just didn’t want us to be hungry, lol. to start off, she ordered the “Calamares Fritos” (Fried Calamari rings served with tartare sauce) and Homemade grilled bread with Baba Ghanouj (eggplant & tahini spread) & Hummus (Chickpeas) Dip. My colleagues and I were more taken with the list of tapas available and chose the Fried Cheese Balls and “Lamb Prochette” (grilled lamb skewers).

The bread with the mediterranean dips came first. it’s been a while since i have had any hummus and i thoroughly enjoyed having the warm bread with the dips. The fried cheese balls came next, served with a fresh tomato & basil paste. One bite and you’re having fun stretching the gooey cheese. It tastes best with the tomato dip as the tomatoes somehow bring out the cheesey taste. think pizza. mmhmmm… the grilled lamb was served with onions & peppers with a mint mayo sauce. i love the mint sauce, even dipped my calamari rings into them instead of into the tartare sauce.

For some reason, my boss insisted on ordering a “Napoli” pizza (anchovies & olives) to share, on top of the main course we have ordered. I reminded her that it would be too much food considering the other girls eat very little but she developed a craving for it as soon as she saw it listed on the menu. She and another colleague had chosen the “Fish Steak” (Perch with a sweet lemon, mushroom & onion sauce, served with potato quarters) earlier. The other two girls opted for pasta - Marinara Spaghetti & Aglia Olio Spirulli. As soon as I saw “Baked Whole Lamb Shank” (served with brocolli, potatoes & carrots, topped with sauce) on the menu, I didn’t look any further. The lamb was heavenly. Tender and juicy, even my boss kept nicking bits of my plate.

it was no wonder we couldn’t move after our heavy lunch. no one even dared think of dessert even if my boss did ask me if i wanted cake. i went for an affogato instead. it was refreshingly smooth & bittersweet.

on our way out, saw the dessert display stand with various sweets such as lemon panna cotta, tiramisu etc. i’m definitely going to try something the next time i return.

Pizza Uno
4, Jalan USJ 10/1B (Taipan Triangle),
47620 Subang Jaya.
Tel: 03-5635-0205

after the last post, i feel inclined to post more on beef noodles. lol. actually, just some photos of the other types of beef noodles i normally have.

Vietnamese Beef Noodles from Ming Tien Food Court in Taman Megah. I opted for “ho fun” (河粉, wide, flat rice noodles) with the braised beef brisket in a tomato based gravy. The stew was cooked with carrots and onions, which added to the “sweetness”. The basil & mint leaves gave a distinctive kick to the entire dish. Overall, it was a very robust meal. Will definitely go back for more.

and now, this is the usual type of beef noodles that i’ll have - dark coloured broth, with generous servings of beef parts. this particular bowl was eaten in Malacca. Voted one of the top 5s in Malaysia, the Tangkak Beef Noodles can be found at this branch opposite Senyum Departmental Store in Melaka Raya. The broth is stronger than most versions i have tasted but is oh so good. The accompanying chilli dip is great with the beef.

definitely worth a try the next time you’re in malacca.

restoran sup lembu tangkak
37, Jalan Merdeka,
Tmn Melaka Raya, Melaka.

i normally like my beef noodles in a hearty beef broth so that’s how i ordered it the first time i was brought to yang kee’s, whilst everyone ordered the dry version. and after having tried the dry tossed noodles, i have never ordered the soupy version again. the noodles, of the wantan noodles variety is served with lots of minced meat, cooked in a dark & flavourful gravy and some leafy vegetable. the soup with the beef is served on the side. normally you get a mixture of beef balls, thin beef slices, tripe etc in the clear soup. however you can specify if you only want beef balls (or even pork meat balls) or beef slices only.

sometimes we like to order the braised beef with radish (蘿白腩) which is tender & juicy. i love the cuts of beef used here, with the bits of tendon. yang kee’s also has a substantial selection of “yong tau foo“, or stuffed vegetables/tofu.

restoran yang kee 营記大埔面家
52, jalan hujan rahmat 2,
taman oug, jalan kelang lama,
58200 kuala lumpur.