A 'lil something for Tiramisu Lovers....

I've recently discovered my passion in making/baking cakes and cooking.

Here is 1 of my personal favorite, which is open for order.

Should anyone is interested, feel free to email me at : sherlynslittledream@gmail.com to enquire further.

Restoran Al Diafah @ Seri Petaling

Aloysius suggested an interesting dinner place for my belated birthday celebration. He has passed by Al Diafah many times,but never had the chance to try. We were all, for a change, keen to try out this Middle Eastern food.

Frankly, I was slightly sceptical, after finding out that this Middle Eastern restaurant is located at Seri Petaling, a Chinese community area. However, I was wrong, as during the course of our dinner, Al Diafah served good crowd of customers.

We were seated by the side, and enjoyed the wind breeze. I liked the open window concept, spaciousness, decoration on all sides of the walls, and the overall ambiance which gave an luxury-like feeling.

Inside Al Diafah

We went with our instinct on what looked good on picture, and clarified what was it during ordering, as the items on menu only carried name, without any description.

The salad that we ordered, though came looking dull in color, actually tasted good. Liked the crispiness of the keropok like item that was served together with the lettuce, tomato, cucumber and purple cabbage.

We also ordered a popular Middle Eastern appetizer, called Hommus, which was chickpeas blended finely and seasoned with olive oil and spices. Tasted really healthy, and goes well with the bread served.

From top L : Salad. Price-RM15, Hommus. Price-RM15
Bottom : bread served, and the tomato, and cucumber with onion for dipping

The chicken kebab has a strong taste of spices, which came from the marination that sunk in well to every part of the meat. Tasted good, taken together with the puff bread. Yumms!

Chicken Kebab. Price-RM25

The dish I enjoyed most was this Al Diafah rice (beriyani) with the 1/4 size BBQ chicken. Both rice and chicken were equally tasty. The beriyani was not too oily, and each came with a fragrant taste.

Al Diafah rice with 1/4 BBQ chicken. Price-RM20
Chicken was hidden beneath the rice.

The Shish Kebab sandwich was pita bread, wrapped with minced lamb, potato and tomato. Extremely filling.

Shish Kebab Sandwich. Price-RM20

The portions ordered were just nice, for 4 of us.

From L : Me, Sam, Janice and Aloy

Restoran Al Diafah
43 & 45, Jalan Radin Anum,
Seri Petaling,
57000 Kuala Lumpur
Tel : 03-9059 6237/39
Fax : 03-9059 6241

Business Hours :
7 days a week, from 12pm to 12am

Cockles @ Near Jalan Bunga Raya, Malacca

Headed to Malacca last weekend with 2 of my ex-colleagues.. One of the main highlight for me, to have an overnight stay in Malacca was that I will be able to have some light food at the stall by the lane of Jalan Bunga Raya.

Right after our dinner at Coconut House@Jonker, we headed to Jalan Bunga Raya.

This is the lane, to head to the stall.

Looks rather dodgy, but was all excited, as good food was ahead of us

Just further in, there were 2 stalls, 1 on the left, and the other on the right. Having been here twice, it was only during this visit, I found out that these 2 are actually competitors. Initially I just thought they are the same, and just being run by 2 different teams... Aiya...
Now knowing the difference between the 2, I actually prefer the 1 on the right, which is run by the Hokkien family.

Busy all through the night

I am one that does not eat cockles, but somehow when I visit here, my brain automatically makes an exception, and ordered a plate. It was quickly brought to boil, and peel it open, dipped into the special sauce, ah... cockles couldn't taste any better.
Too bad they ran out of clams the other night..

Cockles. Price-RM1.50 per plate

The beancurd skin with meat paste was the guys' favorite, and ordered total 2 plates. It was really crunchy. The next plate we ordered was with fishcake.

Beancurd Skin. Price-RM7 (other sizes priced at RM4, and RM10)

The sotong kangkung also tasted good. It was their special sauce that made everything tasted so good.

Sotong Kangkung. Price-RM7 (other sizes priced at RM4, and RM10)

From its menu list, century egg is called 'telur hitam'... Ordered 1 to try, which I regret for not buying more to bring home..Their century egg tasted really good, without much of the strong odor of sulphur. Century is always taken with pickled ginger, to offset the odor. The pickled ginger tasted slightly sweet. Nice. .

The boss graciously walked in at around 9ish, taking over the sauce scooping role. He was like on auto pilot mode, and does it so smoothly. He mixed all the ingredients, a concoction of sweet sauce, chilli sauce, peanut, asam sauce, and other secret ingredient, which makes-up his famous secret sauce.

The man at work

Took advantage of the fact that the boss was on chatty mood, and these was some of the facts I gathered. He would like to be addressed as Mr Cockle.. Hmmm. Since he said so.. Mr Cockle has been doing this business for 30 years, after he was caught in an accident where he lost his arms. He was a big lorry driver then. After not being able to continue to work as driver, he had to resolve to other occupation in his life...

He quoted "we have to think, and think, on what to do or rather what can be done. Don't be afraid to take the step". Little did he know then that this business he created would be 1 of the famous eatery in Malacca. He went through rounds of experimenting, before he finally came out with THE right sauce. He must be real proud, and I gather that things happen for a reason, and closing of one door, is opening of the other.

Mr Cockle and I. Notice the photo hung at the stall - the famous Jason has also done his coverage here before

Also to note, Madam King, the local supermarket here has really special deal from time to time. If you are here, do detour to Madam King before or after you head to the stall.

Mr Cockle
(when you see Madam King on the right, go straight. Its the next lane on the right. Stall is located at the right)

Business Hours :
7pm-11.30pm (best to come 7.30pm onwards)
Sunday, at times close, and also dependent on weather

Big Fish Moment with Pizza Hut

Introduction from the blogger :
I have invited my nieces to depict my 'Big Fish Moment' experience, and I am hereby presenting the 'Big Fish Moment with Pizza Hut' starring Qi and Yao.

Qi : "Boy, I slept till almost noon today, and my stomach is growling"

Qi : "I could barely open my eyes"

Qi : "Sis, what should we eat today?"
Yao : "My craving just kicked in .. I want Fisshhhh!"
Qi :"Alright, let's wake up, get changed, and follow me"

Qi checking with Yao on what she like to eat, before getting out of bed

After their bath, Qi took Yao to the kitchen.

Qi :"Let's cook ourselves.. Could you lend me a hand. I see mom do this all the time. Looks real easy"
Yao : "Ok! If you say so"

The girls enjoying themselves, doing the 'masak-masak'

After minutes of attempt, Qi gave up. Feeling extremely hungry and disappointed, Yao can't help but to cry out aloud.

Yao : "Where is my fish!!!! Waaaaaaaaa!!!"

Being the loving elder sis, Qi gently pat Yao's face, in hope to pacify her.

Qi : "My dearest sister.. you don't need to react so greatly over a meal"

Qi trying to coax Yao not to cry

Yao cried even louder after hearing what Qi had to say.

Yao : "Today is jut not my day... Go away, go away!"

Yao : "Watch out for my flying kick"

After failing several attempts, Qi maintained her coolness, and suddenly, a thought came to her mind. A standee outside Pizza Hut which she saw from Pizza Hut @ Subang Parade last week, that also spells 'F-I-S-H' and not just that, it's 'F-I-S-H K-I-N-G'.

Qi : "I've got a brilliant idea"

Qi got a driver to bring the both of them to THE place... Pizza Hut outlet at Taman Sentosa, Klang.

Spotted Pizza Hut from afar

From the standee, Qi remembered the 'talent' caught some cute fishes using fishing rod, and she would also like to attempt and demonstrate to Yao, how catching using fish net is like.

At her first attempt, oooppppsss... failed.. Caught Yao in the net.

Yao : "Hey, sis.. Why did you catch me"
Qi : "I don't mean to, but you do look cute in it". "Let me try one more time"

Qi feeling ticklish over the fact that she caught Yao with the fish net

During the 2nd attempt, not sure how Qi did it, but she was also caught within.

The 2 girls struggled, without help from any passerby.

Struggling to escape

Qi : "Yao, stop smiling, and help us get out of here!"
Yao : "Don't blame me, it's all your fault wanting to demonstrate catching fish using this fish net"

Trying harder to escape

After few minutes of struggle, both managed to escape.

Qi : "Luckily my hair is not messed up"

After much drama outside, the girls finally get to step inside Pizza Hut.
This is such a big Pizza Hut outlet, and it is even connected to KFC. Spacious with holding capacity of up to 2 floors, this is really a popular dining place for people around this neighbourhood. With its interior using much of brown color, and the right kind of lighting, it just added to the the cosy-ness feeling.

Inside Pizza Hut

When Qi spotted this traymat on the table, she immediately shouted out "THIS IS IT!!" "The pizza that the fisherman on standee was holding".

Makes one drool just by looking at the Fish King Pizza traymat

Been thought to be a prudent kid, Qi immediately did the comparison :
Fish King Set 1 (recommended for 2 persons)
1 Regular Fish King Pizza
2 Soup of the Day
4 pcs Garlic Breadstick
2 glasses of Pepsi
Price - RM28.00

Fish King Set 2 (recommended for 4 persons)
1 Large Fish King Pizza
4 Soup of the Day
4 pcs Garlic Breadstick
1 pitcher of Pepsi
Price - RM49.00

Wow, the above deal is definitely 'Big On Fish! Bigger On Value'... However, since there were only the 2 of them, and after much discussion, they would like to consider the a'la carte menu :
RM23.90 for Regular Pizza, and RM32.90 for Large Pizza.Wanting to pack home some, they opted for the Large Pizza.

Qi and Yao : "Now that we have ordered, we are on stand-by mode to eat"

All ready to eat

When the Fish King Pizza was served, they put on their 'spotlight' eyes by making their eyes go bigger, so that they can see clearly the extremely yummy looking serving of pizza.

Qi : "Mamamia!! 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 fish fingers"
Yao : "I'm going to eat 2, sis 2, and we can pack back the rest"

The girls fully set their eyes on the Fish King Pizza

It would be difficult for one to resist this 'biggest catch', the latest introduction by Pizza Hut, the Fish King Pizza. Served piping hot, it is loaded with 8 fish fingers made from specially-imported Alaskan Pollock, crabsticks, Mozzarella cheese, roasted capsicums, yellow onions and juicy pineapples, on all a cool lime mayo sauce that simply spells 'REFRESHING'. A pizza serving so compact with ingredients, and Alaskan Pollock being said to be "the largest remaining source of palatable fish in this world" truly depicts its tagline of 'Big On Fish! Bigger On Value'.

Yummy-licious Fish King Pizza

How can one not drool over the cheesiness of the Mozzarella cheese that gives the chewy and stringy effect as it melts.

Fish King Pizza, with the 'melting' strings of the Mozzarella cheese

After just 1 bite of the pizza, Qi and Yao can't resist but to give a thumbs-up.

Qi and Yao : "This surely deserve our thumbs up"

Qi took each bite of the pizza with full satisfaction. All ingredients in this Fish King Pizza complimented each other so well, and the tender on the inside and yet crispy on the outside of Alaskan Pollock fish was Qi's favorite.

Qi : "This is what I call enjoying my every moment of Fish King Pizza"

Yao on the other hand, being a cheese lover, just love it when she saw the string of cheese when she pulled the pizza away after her bite.

Yao : "This fish king pizza is indeed filled with cheesiness of the mozzarella cheese"

Minutes later, Yao, seeing Qi almost finished up her share of pizza, quickly held her pizza really tight.. Just in case....... She too, enjoyed each bite of this supreme flavour Fish King Pizza, and with the cheesiness, truly a plus point.

Yao : "Take bigger bite, before Qi attacks my share of pizza"

After finishing their share of pizza, the 2 girls can't wait to head home, and share the delicious pizza with their family. While leaving Pizza Hut, Yao noticed someone was looking at them.

Yao : "Sis, I think someone is looking at us"
Qi : "Don't be afraid. I'm here to protect you. Let's find out what they want"

Qi giving Yao assurance that it's ok

After clarifying, they were actually asked if they'd like to be the 'model' for Maybankard and American Express credit card. And so, they happily agreed, and posed for it.

Offered exclusively for Maybankard and American Express card members, a discount of 30% is extended for Fish King Pizza a'la carte pizza order, for dine-in and take-away only.

What a deal! Not just the Fish King Pizza is Big On Fish! Bigger On Value! and now, an additional perk to sweetened the entire deal....What other way to conclude that 'The Deal Just Gets Better. Only at Pizza Hut. Specially for Fish King Pizza Lovers'.

Qi and Yao posing with the Maybankard American Express card

Acknowledgement from the blogger :
The entire 'Big Fish Moment with Pizza Hut' has been "produced" just as how I wanted it to be. Much credit is to be given to
- the 2 "professional" models - Qi and Yao, for their hard work (though it wasn't that hard as they truly enjoyed every bite of the pizza)
- the mom of the 2 models - Wen, for her support in her daughters' love for 'modelling' cum 'acting'
- the photographer - Fei, and also for his valuable input

A big Thank You for making this 'Big Fish Moment with Pizza Hut' possible.

The Smokehouse @ Tanah Rata, Camerons

When come to eating scone, I have often been told that The Smokehouse at Camerons serve the best scone. Having tried its scone close to 10 years ago, I can hardly remember the taste. I had the chance to revive the feeling while I was there 2 weeks ago.

One will be able to spot The Smokehouse when driving through Tanah Rata. Once stepped down from the car, you are surrounded by this really lovely garden, and I love this 'board' placed on 1 of the wall. 'A distant rumour of a long forgotten garden..... Thank the almighty for all things beautiful! Be happy!'

A little about 'The Smokehouse'

Once we stepped in this English Tudor style hotel built in 1939, it is truly the ultimate colonial ambiance. Love it here... and us, wouldn't want to waste any time, headed straight to snap snap snap pictures of us, at as many corners possible, of this place.

Relaxing ambiance

Peaceful afternoon - window overlooking the garden

What could be a better weekend, that enjoying the traditional Devonshire Cream Tea set, in the lush gardens of The Smokehouse. (There is another branch that has opened at One Bangsar recently, and I have yet to try)

The garden at The Smokehouse

With such a lovely garden, we could almost ignore the rusty chair, table and swing. Keke..

Rusty chair

We opted for the Devonshire Cream Tea set - Devonshire cream tea refers to tea taken with combination of scones, clotted cream / whipped cream, and jam (according to Devon method, its jam over the cream). Right method of eating is by splitting the scone in 2, cover each 1/2 with cream, and then add strawberry jam on top.

The freshly baked scones .
Price-RM25 (2 scones, pot of tea, cream and jam - good for 1 person)

The homemade strawberry preserve and cream

I just love this scone that was oven baked till golden brown. It was almost a perfect scone that has a crisp exterior with an interior that was light and fluffy with a rich buttery flavor.

Yummy-licious

Have a cuppa tea, at the garden. My perfect afternoon!!

The Smokehouse
By The Golf Course
PO Box No 77 Tanah Rata,
39000 Cameron Highlands
Tel : 605-4911 215

Buah Todi @ Camerons

The loads of sea coconut at this stall caught our eyes when we drove pass, from Kea Farm towards Brinchang. Thus, decided to stop our car on the way back, to check it out.

Stalls along the road

The boss had quite a number of customers, some whom were as curious as us. Asking what is that... Upon clarifying with the boss, this is actually called Buah Todi, and the supply came from Ipoh.

First thing we asked 'how much', and the price actually range from RM5-RM18, depending on size.

The Buah Todi in different sizes

Upon choosing our Buah Todi, the boss slowly peeled open the Buah Todi. He was in fact real bubbly, and reminded us of Chef Ismail.

"Huh, potong macam ini.. (cut like this)"

The Buah Todi has 3 parts to it. Scoop over the flesh, and there will be some juice inside, which tasted very mild. Its texture is like sea coconut. Refreshing to drink this in the cool weather.

Its benefits include it having cooling effect, and works best for those having sore throat.