My favourite picnic food

Going to picnic or "berkelah" (in Malay) is a fun thing to do with family. In addition to the scenes and the activities, we get to enjoy home-made tasty food. Here is a list of my favourite food, fruits and drinks.

• Fried chicken or nuggets. For the ease of preparation, fried chicken and nuggets can be prepared by getting the ready to fry type at grocery shops. For home-made type in which you want to tweak the spices (like KFC), you can follow an example from "Triple Dipped Fried chicken" by AllRecipes.
• Char bee hoon (or fried rice vermicelli). There is a recipe for this dish, "Char bee hoon" by TheBondingTool. Sometimes, having a Maggie mee goreng (or fried Maggir noodle) is desired. A recipe for that can be found in "Maggi mee goreng (15 min, 5 ingredients)" by JewelPie.
• Egg and ham sandwich. It is considered tasty and yet easy to prepare. The easiest would be to mash boiled eggs and mix it with butter, mayoinnaise (with a little seasoning), and cucumber slices. There is a recipe for "delicious egg salad for sandwiches" by AllRecipes.
• Meat balls. I love fish balls and other meat balls. The way to prepare them is to deep fry them.

Different types of meat balls, e.g. shrimp, beef, pork, fish, mushroom-with-meat, and many other variety of preparation are available. Pics taken from www.best-food.com.tw. 

• Finger food, e.g. fried tofu, siew mai, char siew (either packed or home-cooked by RasaMalaysia), popiah (popiah recipe by RasaMalaysia), and other spicy fried food.
• Fruits. If weight is not a problem, then watermelon is the best fruit to bring along!
• Junk food and chips.
• Drinks such as isotonic drinks (e.g. 100plus or H-Two-O), plain water, lemonade (less sweetened to match the hot weather here), and ice block/chunks with ice picks.
  

Normally I wouldn't want to bring along anything that is too sweet such as cakes, puddings, etc. because of the hot weather and ants. The hot weather induces a stronger taste for spicy food rather than sweet (my own opinion). Also, normally I will have to compete with ants to the food (unless the picnic is on the beach).

Activities that we normally do while having a picnic would be to fish, fly a kite, catching grasshoppers or butterflies, look at water-strider, feed the birds bread, catch small fries with net, blow bubbles so that our kids can chase after them, take pics, dig for clams or small crabs (when on a beach), collect seashells, play with sand, build sand castle, etc.

If we do get to stay overnight on a beach, having a BBQ would be wonderful. In Singapore, it is easy to prepare the food (by ordering from suppliers, e.g. search "BBQ food Singapore delivery" in Google). In addition to the food supplied, adding a sweet corn and potatoes will be super.

Looking forward to our next picnic.

Pasar Malam (night market) good food in Malaysia and Singapore

Pasar Malam (or Night market) in Malaysia is a place to get cheap stuff and most important of all, good food at great price. The list of food that I love to get in Pasar Malam are

• Ramly burger. The burger is sandwiched with Ramly patty enveloped with fried egg, spread of shredded cabbage, BBQ and sweet chili sauce, and the burger bun is normally spread with margarine or butter and fried to aromatic. Other variety are Roti John (longer version).
• Skewered meat balls, sausages, fried squid, and others.
• Apam balik or "Dai Gao Min". Taste sort of like waffle with chunky peanut bits, aromatic melted butter and sweet sugar and sometimes with corn kernels. There are two versions, the soft ones and the crunchy ones.
• Fruit rojak with crunchy Chinese breadstick (or Youtiao). The gravy is made of thick soy sauce mixed with shrimp paste, chili, and sugar. The fruit mix comprises unripe mango slices, jicima, pineapple cubes. Additional ingredients include taupok (puffy, deep-fried tofu) and youtiao for texture. Crushed peanut and sesame seeds are added to the mix. For more information, refer to Rojak by Wikipedia.
• Bread and many types of buns. I love to get the sausage buns and others with different types of fillings, e.g. curry chicken, char siew, bean pastes, etc.
• Char Kway Teow. Sometimes, the Char Kway Teow in pasar malam is very good because the flame used for cooking is set to maximum giving the dish an extra "char" to noodle.
• Dim sum. I like to order the Big Pau, Char Siew Pau, Lo Mai Kai (glutinous rice chicken), Siew Mai, Har gow, and others.
• Kacang putih. For a visual description of this delicacy, refer to Ipoh Kacang Putih Original.

"Kacang putih" is a collection of product such as Murruku, peas and nuts.

• Dim sum. In Ipoh, the pasar malam there has dim sum with big pau, char siew pau, siew mai, and glutinous rice chicken (lor mai kai).
• Fruits. Sometimes I will just get some if the price is right, or the season is ripe for cheap durian.
• Cakes. There was a time when cheese tarts were sought-after and many patrons like me food-hunted for them.
• Prickled and dried fruits. I loved to get dried sour plums and many other types of preserved fruits.
• Junk food and sweets. Sometimes, can get peanut candy and other types of traditional sweets.
• Biscuits and cookies. In Ipoh, I remembered a stall used to sell biscuits and cookies in large tins. Customers buy them in smaller portions at a price per 100g. I used to like the sandwich cookies with different types of fillings. Another favourite is the salty Graham crackers type of biscuit.
• Assorted ice-cream.
• Luk-luk. Skewered meat balls, meat, octopus, bird eggs, tofu, stuff veggies, etc. that are cooked by immersing them in boiling gravy, e.g. satay gravy. They are eaten on the spot when cooked. We pay by the amount of sticks consumed.
• Chung or Bak Chang. A stall that sells Nyonya kueh (including Angku kueh) and different types of Chang (rice dumplings).
• Popiah. I prefer the traditional type of popiah instead of the ones that are over-stuffed with unnecessary ingredients (in order to blow up the price per popiah). The traditional ones have the popiah, sweet and spicy sauce, followed by a leaf of lettuce, then the wok-fried jicama, grated carrot, with dried mushroom, shrimps, and seasoning to taste. Sometimes, there is a little fried egg shreds. That is the most delicious combination. I don't like those with bean sprouts, peanuts, and other ingredients that make the final popiah with soggy texture.
• Kebab. Middle eastern "burger".

What I wish I could get from pasar malam.

• Skewered or fried seafood. For example, fried squid on stick, fried oyster omelet (or "Oh Chien"), battered and fried mantis shrimps, pan-fried chili blood cockle, and many more. For DIY Oh Chien recipe is available from Peng's Kitchen.

 

Fried oyster omelet recipe by Peng's kitchen.

• Satay. I would love to have satay.
• Roti canai (or prata). There is one pasar malam at Kajang that had a stall selling roti canai. The seller would prepare fresh roti and then shred it into smaller pieces with two saucers and place them in a plastic bag. He would then add a little gravy (Dal or split peas) into the bag. It was delicious!

My main reason to visit Pasar Malam (or Night markets) would be to find the best food available there. In Malaysia, pasar malam can be an exciting place to visit because there will be stalls with creative food preparation or product to entice patrons. However, in recent time, the night markets have lacked such surprises.

What are your food wishlist for pasar malam in Malaysia and Singapore?

My favourite food in Ipoh Perak

Ipoh is a capital city of Perak state in Malaysia. There are a lot of food to try there and several of my favourite dishes are

• Wonton noodles.
• Chee Cheong Fun. The one I loved is accompanied by sesame seed, long bean, pig skin, sweet and sour gravy, and curry gravy.
• Ipoh Hor Fun.
• Ipoh Nga Choi Kai (or bean-sprout and chicken)
• Ipoh Dim Sum. My favourite hangout if I can wake up very early for dim sum breakfast would be at Foh San Dim Sum restaurant.
• Liew (Yong Liew, Sar-Kok/jicama Liew, Char or fried Liew, Fu Chuk, Vegetable stuff with meat, etc.) and noodle. This dish comes in a clear soup noodle (I like curry noodle) and accompanying Liew (such as Yong Liew, Sar Kok Liew, and fried Liew).

Different types of Liew for accompanying soup-based or dry noodle. Picture from blog entry by nasilemaklover.

• Ipoh popiah. I can't remember where I tasted the best popiah in town.
• Ipoh Luk-luk. There are several that I loved, one was in Jalan Foo Yet Kai beside The Store (previously the Ocean shopping mall). Another place is at Ipoh Garden South.
• Ipoh old town white coffee and toast.
• Ipoh rojak and cendol. Some said Malacca cendol is the best.
• Char Kway Teow, Prawn noodle, and laksa are available in Ipoh and they taste good.
• Ipoh (Bercham) claypot chicken rice with salty fish, mushroom, Chinese sausage, etc. is savoury and should be on the list of must-try.
• Gunung Rapat Heong Peng and Ipoh sesame peanut candy are my favourite snack.

All in all, whatever type of noodles and preparation, you should give them a try. Also, mamak food such as nasi kandar rice, briyani  rice and roti canai (or prata in Singapore) are my favourite too. Nasi lemak, satay, lemang, different types of pulut/lemang and curry gravy, putumayam, seafood dishes, restaurant prepared dishes, vegetarian dishes, and many more which I will not mention here are also my favourite.

It is too bad that I have no photos to show them here in this blog. If I do get to try all the above dishes again when I'm in Ipoh, I will populate these photos here with the dish's name.

Just to share.

List of important things to take while traveling oversea

When you are traveling as a family with children and babies, there are important things that you must remember to bring along during travel. That is because, sometimes it's very difficult to shop for the things that are readily available in Singapore.

Example, while I was in Heidelberg Germany, the formula milk for our baby ran out due to frequent feeding. I tried to look for the formula in Grocery shop, Supermarket, convenient store, and even pharmacies, but ended with no formula. The closest I could get was pasteurized fresh milk.

So, the list of things that I must remember to get while staying oversea are

• Formula milk (more than enough).
• Activated charcoal tablets (for treating drug overdose or poisoning). For more information regarding activated charcoal (WebMD).
• Lomotil pill for treating diarrhea, which is important especially when we get food poisoned while traveling long distance where public toilet is not readily available. How lomotil helps alleviate diarrhea can be found in WebMD site.
• Panadol or paracetamol tablets for sudden fever or infection. If possible, bring along children's paracetamol syrup (but normally the medication has to be stored in proper condition).
• Baby biscuits and food that they are familiar with (just in case kids got food shock).
• Anti-histamine pills just in case an allergic reaction strikes at unexpected time when hunting for the pill in a foreign land is improbable.
• Universal travel adapters. A list is available at Courts Singapore.

For the less crucial items, more like a luxury

• Medicated oil (My favourite is Axe brand). Important for bites, headache, and masking smells (some for aromatherapy).
• External battery. I'm not sure about availability of power outlets oversea but in Singapore, it's difficult to find an outlet sometimes. I know McD, library, Starbuck, and cafeteria have power outlets for patrons.
• Favourite instant coffee. I like Old Town white coffee and to have a supply during travel oversea will be great.
• Baby lightweight pram (aka stroller). To carry our baby weighing more than 10 kg is not easy. To have an easily foldable and lightweight stroller (at less than 10 kg) would be a great help. Alternatively, to have a good back-support baby carrier would be good. My favourite light-weight stroller is the Seebaby brand available in Singapore Tom & Stefanie shops (I can't find their official site!).

My favourite lightweight baby stroller for travels (Seebaby stroller)

Seebaby stroller at SGD 56 at Tom & Stephanie store Singapore

• Chilies (cili padi) or chili sauce. I think most places will have spicy chili or Jalapenos nowadays, so this item is not so crucial. Furthermore, Tabasco sauce is readily available in most places I've been to. Note that material with seeds such as chilies are prohibited from entering certain countries.
• Small travel size rice cooker would be great to have, especially if I want to cook something homey.
• Kettle for boiling water and preparing warm formula milk for baby would be useful. Some hotels do provide kettles for guests.

What are your crucial items to bring along while being oversea?


Other tips

• How to opt for Digi super long life plan. This is a prepaid plan and you can increase the validity duration by opting for Digi super long life plan (to 365 days) at a cost of RM 30.
• Get a small rice cooker on the go for family during trips. Having rice cooker helps during long trips.
• Type of cameras that is most useful during travel.

Rice cooker on the go for family

For most people, traveling while on a holiday comes together with eating out. This is true if you are traveling to other countries with different culture, ambience, and importantly food.

Anyway, thanks to globalization, there is no food that is not available in Malaysia and Singapore. We have Middle Eastern, Indian, Japanese, Chinese, Thai, Pinoy (or Phillipines), Indonesian, Western, French, and many more. For those people, like me, who would prefer that once in a while to have a home-cooked meal that is heavy on the spices and hot chillies during travel (especially for a duration of more than 5 days) there must be a way to accomplish this...

When I was in Spain few months back, and after having taken so many Tapas and Paella (which were really great and tasty but still....), I was so desperate to look for Asian/Indian restaurants that I was willing to walk long distances to taste home. Unfortunately the food there was still foreign to me. That was when I realized that the only way to take home cooked meal with me (if there was a craving), was to get a mini rice cooker. One that can fit into a luggage and sufficient to cook for at least two people.

The advantages of rice cooker is plenty:

1. It can boil water. This is important for travelers with babies and who need to prepare milk (from formula milk powder).
2. Instant noodle. Any craving for noodles, rice cooker to the rescue.
3. Hot pot (or steam boat). You can find any fresh ingredients to your liking (in the market) and dump them into the prepared broth (after adding the prepacked spices or broth base). It will be super!
4. Steamer. If you have craving for anything that need steaming, the rice cooker to the rescue!
5. BBQ/frying. I have not tried it on a "basic" cooker (those portable ones with minimal function) before, but with a little bit of cooking oil and ingredient, I guess you can start stir fry them in the pot and it should work.
6. Bake. My wife had tried baking a bread with the rice cooker. It won't be as fluffy as baking them in the oven, but it is still tasty. However, I don't think bread is hard to get item in the world. Bread can be found all over the world!

There are several references describing what you can do with a rice cooker. I will list some of them here.

• 21 Surprising Things You Can Make In A Rice Cooker
• Frying foods in a rice cooker (eHow)
• Rice cooker recipes (Zojirushi)

Other tips

• How to opt for Digi super long life plan. This is a prepaid plan and you can increase the validity duration by opting for Digi super long life plan (to 365 days) at a cost of RM 30.
• Type of cameras that is most useful during travel.
• List of important things to take while traveling oversea.

Langkawi Sunrise seafood restaurant

The restaurant is a walking distance from Bayview Hotel.

Ordered lemon (plum sauce) chicken (small portion, RM 20), salt and pepper mantis shrimp (small, RM 20), home-made special tofu (small, RM 16), daily soup old cucumber (small, RM 15), and home-made barley drinks (RM 3 each), and watermelon juice (RM 5 each). Total bill was RM90.

The place was okay. The staff was friendly. The food was not so good. The lemon chicken was okay because it's fresh, but the sauce and cooking style was not impressive (not memorable). The mantis shrimp was filled with batter to the extent that I can't make out if there is any shrimp at all. The tofu was nice and better than most of them. I didn't like the soup. 

I don't think I'd miss this place although I won't mind trying their other dishes, if chance permit.

 

Related blogs

• What to expect upon landing Langkawi Intl Airport.
• Car rental while in Langkawi.
• The hotel we stayed while in Langkawi.
• We visited the largest Langkawi Underwater World.
• We visited the Cenang Beach nearby the Underwater World.
• We visited and enjoyed the hospitality at Mardi Agrotechnology Park in Langkawi (highly recommended and if you like durian, then wait for the season, e.g. from June to August)
• We visited the Langkawi cable car and passed by the waterfall.