When you get caught between the Moon and New York City

Tomorrow I am flying home to my favourite place on earth....I'm looking forward to long solitary walks in Central Park, gazing at the swans and overarching cherry blossom trees, indulging in existentialist rumination or just enjoying the beauty, day dreaming, content to just be....and not thinking much at all...

New York is exactly as is shown in Sex & The City and Breakfast At Tiffany's...every bit as exciting, thrilling and glamorous; Saks Fifth Avenue, Times Square, all glass and neon interspersed with regal old buildings,....and yet there is nature and so much romance too.....horses trotting on the busy streets...the Empire State Building and imageries from An Affair To Remember.  

I have always been in love with Manhattan, ever since I was a wee child watching in awe a documentary on NYC. The first time I set foot here many years back with my mom, reality matched that childhood fantasy. Been back to Gotham many times since, and it just never gets old. It was at the very top of my list of places I wanted to spend forever in. It still is....

There's this old song that really epitomises how I feel about NYC.....it's hopelessly romantic...  

Arthur's Theme

Once in your life you find her

Someone that turns your heart around

And next thing you know you're closing down the town

Wake up and it's still with you

Even though you left her way across town

Wondering to yourself, "Hey, what've I found?"

When you get caught between the Moon and New York City

I know it's crazy, but it's true

If you get caught between the Moon and New York City

The best that you can do ......

The best that you can do is fall in love

Arthur he does as he pleases

All of his life, he's mastered choice

Deep in his heart, he's just, he's just a boy

Living his life one day at a time

And showing himself a really good time

Laughing about the way they want him to be

When you get caught between the Moon and New York City

I know it's crazy, but it's true

If you get caught between the Moon and New York City

The best that you can do .....

The best that you can do is fall in love

When you get caught between the Moon and New York City

I know it's crazy, but it's true

If you get caught between the Moon and New York City

The best that you can do .....

The best that you can do is fall in love

- Christopher Cross

Home Cooking

I find myself cooking alot these days to decompress after a busy day at work. It is strangely soothing to stop thinking about the next report and presentation to prepare for, and just be doing elemental things like chopping vegetables and stir fying meat. Here's a compilation of some of the stuff I've been dishing up lately.

I like simple green vegetable dishes like choy sum.

And ladies' fingers with caramelised onions and garlic....very tasty.

Fried eggs with spicy birds eye chillies in soy sauce.

Kung pao chicken. My first attempt.... and it proved a success!

Tamarind chicken....hubby liked this dish.

Since it's the mango season, we cut and froze a tonne of mangoes....

...and we made mango lassi : frozen mango, yoghurt, honey, brown sugar, blended to a thick paste...delicious, buttery, sweet, fragrant. The perfect dessert!

Restoran Makanan Laut Wang Chiew, SS2, Petaling Jaya

We were searching for a place to take grand-uncle and grand-aunt out to dinner when we stumbled upon this restaurant in the Popular Food Guide @ Malaysia book. It's in a little known area of SS2 Petaling Jaya, but when we went on a Saturday evening, the restaurant was jam packed with customers, right up to the shoplot corridors.

The good thing about this place is that they have menus in English with some pictures and prices which made it alot easier to order. They've got 2 shoplots, one with airconditioning and the other without. Tables were also laid out all over the sidewalk, and at 7.00pm, they were all occupied.

First up, we ordered a choy sum garlic stir fry (RM8.00). Simple and tasty.

We tried the salted pork trotter (RM20.00 for small) which was a chef's specialty here. The pork trotter was very lean with crispy crackling and alot of meat although we ordered a small portion.

The pork trotter came with this special dipping sauce which had a pungent sour-turmeric-peppery taste. Very unique. Grand-aunt wasn't too fond of the sauce, but the rest of us didn't mind it. An acquired taste, perhaps.

The steamed beancurd (RM12.00) with mixed vegetables had a very eggy taste. Very good for bean curd lovers.

This dish was my favourite. The cereal deep fried mantis prawns had a batter that was rich with salted egg yolks (RM12.00). I loved the crunchy, flaky, spicy and salty texture/taste, and ate even the curry leaves interspersed within the crumbly goodness.

The meal came up to RM62.10 (inclusive of rice and drinks) for the 5 of us. They've got an extensive menu, and an exciting crowd of people. This restaurat is very popular and we're surprised not to have discovered it earlier. We'll definitely be back here to sample more of their very reasonably-priced food.

Restoran Makanan Laut Wang Chiew

30 Jalan SS2/103,

47300 Petaling Jaya, Selangor.

Tel : 603-77223662

Mobile : 6-012-6455139

This restaurant is in the SS2 area that is opposite KDU college, across from the LDP highway. If you know where the SS2 Fire Station is, then this is not too far away. If you are on the road (in SS2) parallel to LDP Highway with the SS2 Fire Station on your right, then go all the way straight. Jalan SS2/103 will be one of the roads on your right.

3-bams with alot of potential for more!

Mun Kee Steamed Fish Head, Happy Garden, Kuala Lumpur

Hubby and I discovered this restaurant some time back, pretty much by random...we went to the pasar malam at Happy Garden and since we were in the vicinity, we decided to grab some dinner.

Seeng a large crowd at this (literally) road-side restaurant which coincidentally bears my granduncle's name, we decided to give it a try. We've been back several times since, and it is always crowded on weekend evenings, sometimes to the point of their steamed fish heads being sold out, so it is always a good idea to go earlier.

This time, we tried the salted egg, deep fried chicken wings (RM12.00). See the scrumptious bits of salted egg yolks sticking to the salty batter.....lovely! Since I absolutely love salted eggs, the crunchy and savoury taste of the chicken wings was a winner. Finger licking good!

 This style of steamed fish head is popular with customers who frequent this joint (RM20.00). A fleshy slab of freshwater fish head steamed/garnished with soya sauce, ginger shreds, sliced birds eye chillies, scallions, coriander  and garlic oil, this dish's simplicity belies its wonderful, tasty freshness. We try to eat fish regularly....fish is, after all, good for the brains. And when the craving starts, it's off to Mun Kee for us!

Fish Head King Steam Fish Head (Mun Kee)

New Happy Garden Food Court,

43-A (Gerai), Jalan Lazat 1, Taman Gembira,

58200 Kuala Lumpur.

 Alternatively.....

Chinese Village Pasarakyat (Jalan Imbi),

No. 8, Jalan Melati, Off Jalan Imbi,

55100 Kuala Lumpur.

Mobile : 016-2987876

We love the tasty freshness! 4-bams.