Foodilicious is thinking of....

moving into her own private "house". Basically I am thinking of setting up a dot com, but I seem so lost at deciding the name that I want!

Foodilicious was established on October 4th 2007, out of boredom. I was on a long leave, and I stayed at home during which, I thought that blogging might just cure my boring-ness. It did. Amazing. It has been 1 year since I started my simple delicious posts.

Amazingly too, I started to fall in love with my food blog. Not that it is such a pretty one, but I always visualised how I want it to be. It changed quite a bit over time. I am quite satisfied with it today. Most of my little extra time is spent reading, researching, and learning how to improve my food photography and writing. Now, I want more.

I never thought of taking food blogging seriously. Somehow, mid-way, I changed that thought. I realised what I love doing most, and it is not shopping, going for movies or having facials done during weekends. It's the act of food photography, and writing about it that I enjoy more than anything else. And with this, I plan to take it further. My family and fiance supports me and that is enough to make me the happiest person alive.

Why "Foodilicious Malaysia"? Originally it has to be something else that I don't remember, really. I wanted something containing the words 'food' and 'malaysia' - the country that I originate from and residing. So there ya' go, delicious Malaysian food from me.

I admire many food bloggers out there with such amazing food blogs. Much time and effort put in, and so many yummy and mouth-watering recipes/pictures, I appreciate and enjoy their blog so much. And I want to be one that contributes to the world, my journey through the food I eat, see and cook.

Honestly I can be such a pain in making decisions. I can never make up my mind. Thankfully I am not a doctor or a lawyer for that matter. But oh! - my job involves making decisions. Decisions to accept or decline. And decision of a suitable food blog name that would truly represent myself, and how I relate to food.

Ramly Burger anywhere, anytime, always.

"I prefer Ramly Burger anytime compared to McDonalds or KFC's burgers."

If you ask Malaysians, "What's the best burger to eat" or "What's your favourite burger", chances are, more than half, or even almost everyone would say "Ramly burger".

So what is Ramly Burger, you ask? You can basically tell from my photos here. It's a street-cart burger stalls that are available in almost all neigbourhood in Malaysia, and Singapore, so I've heard.

The brand name "Ramly" originates from 2 Malaysian entreprenuers, Mr. Ramly Mokni and Mrs. Shala Siah who are pioneers in the halal food industry in Malaysia. They specialise in burgers, frankfurters, nuggets, meatballs and seafood with burger being the most popular product - which leads to the popular street food "Ramly Burger".

What's so special about these street burgers? Mouth-watering, tasty meat pattie wrapped with fresh lettuce, onions, tomatoes, with the choice of cheese and eggs. Topped with chili sauce and it's a masterpiece.

Forget that it's a hamburger and it's fattening and unhealthy. Not like I eat them everyday or everyweek! There's 2 choice of meat, beef and chicken burger. The first being the most popular one. And some place have fish burger too!

The egg omelet is flavoured with a dash of maggi seasoning, which gives it an interesting hint of taste. And chili sauce is a must! Some places add BBQ sauce as well. My only dislike is when there is too much mayonnaise. :-( I don't like too much of that.. and I only like Kraft's mayo.
Look at this photo - the burger is layered with cheese, BBQ sauce, mayonnaise, and wrapped in the egg omelet. Ohh I love this... I am all suddenly too hungry! I have to make some of these at home... perhaps over a BBQ party. Bet people would love it so much!
This cart is located at the back entrance of Midlands 1-Stop Shopping Mall in Georgetown, Penang. Usually available in evenings.

Some other tasty street-cart burgers that I like are:

Tari Cafe, Tanjung Tokong opposite Seri Tanjung Pinang

Burger cart near Gelugor, opposite Kedai Lapan Pagi and beside Klinik Aman Gelugor

Island Glades Coffee Shop

and frankly, many, many more... :-)

Tom Yum and Padprik at Tanjung Bungah

If you are no stranger to Penang, you most likely know this place - one of the favourite eating spots in Tanjung Bungah. A food court that looks rather old, quiet during the bright day light, and old fashioned tables. Open air concept - when it rains, it's too bad that it is not covered. But during most warm, beautifull nights, it is fun.
I would say, 2 main type of food is available here. Malay and Chinese food, seafood and more. Well, previously they had more - but perhaps due to the economic slowdown, some had closed down, leaving the more popular ones still hanging around. Maybe also, this place looks rather run down. It's been there for as long as I can remember when my brother used to take us there for dinner.

Chinese style fried rice

The food is good really. Simple, very affordable, delicious, comforting. Though price had slightly increased since the escalating oil prices worldwide, the food remains of same quality, nothing less that what is usually prepared. I've heard of some places that increase price and reduced the serving portion. So unfair for that!

My favourite would be the "Tom Yum" stall where I usually have my favourite food, such as the ones I posted in here. Others would be Chicken rice, some of the western food, and grilled seafood. Hmmph!

Chicken Padprik Fried Rice

This has got to be my favourite of all, Padprik. May be different than the real Padprik style in Bangkok, but it does tastes good for me. :-) They never fail to always have lots of meat in the serving, so, one of the reasons why this place remains open and popular till today. Good food, good business, returning customers...

Tom Yum. The hot, sour, spicey, oomph!

Most times I have to order this. The tom yum here is really nice - spicy, sour, warm, and flavourful. And I love it so much!

I guess most people that come here are the locals, and tourists that stay in nearby hotels - Sandy Bay and Copthorne Orchid.
This Satay stall seems always to be lonely, but I see a lot of people enjoying the satay there. Which reminds me, I must eat satay next time I go there. They have chicken and beef satay. A truly Malaysian favourite, served with fresh cucumber, onions, and peanut sauce.
See the table and chairs? You don't see this anywhere in newer food courts. :-) My only wish is that the local council (because I think this place was built by the local council) upgrades this place, and all other local food courts. They should have better stalls, tables, chairs, new floors, and definitely a ROOF!

Well, as long as the food remains foodilicious, I'm eatin!

Foodbuzz Publisher Community Launches.

If you're wondering what Foodbuzz is all about and why it  appears on most food blogs - wonder no more. It's a cool online food blogging community and a site that brings people from each corner of the world to one place - to get to know each other, make friends, make food-drooling a pleasure for all.

In a nutshell, Foodbuzz was establised in 2007, originates from San Francisco with the intention to gather anything food related into one online portal. The interesting concept of this site, namely "Buzz" enables members to "vote" any member, or food-related posts. It currently has more than 3 million users online. How cool is that?!

Recently, Foodbuzz launced its Global Publisher Community  programme. "At launch, the Foodbuzz community ranks as one of the top-10 Internet destinations for food and dining (Quantcast), with bloggers based in 45 countries and 863 cities serving up daily food content.", quoted from an official press release by Foodbuzz.

I have joined Foodbuzz for almost a year now. It's been wonderful to share and get to know food bloggers and their interesting dishes, recipes, dining experience, and more. I get to make so many friends from around the globe too! Remember those days when we used to browse magazines to look for pen-pals? Well, Foodbuzz is a place to make friends too!

Are you a food blogger? What are you waiting for - Join Foodbuzz and get to know a whole lot friendly food bloggers here! There's nothing to lose, and more to gain. 

Sign up for Foodbuzz now

Read more about Foodbuzz

What the Buzz is all about?

Become a Foodbuzz featured publisher

See you there :-)

Just another dinner. What's new in Gurney Plaza?

Since I got back my point and shoot camera, old habits came back - taking pictures everywhere I go. It's something I like to do - just having my PNS at all times is wonderful. It's fun! Lucky me too, each time I get to snap that food picture unlike before... :-)

Gurney Plaza started some expansion project somewhere last year - I cursed them for the closure of some restaurants with al fresco area - the place that people love to just sit, relax, enjoy fresh air, and a big garden right there too. Now, that area has become the new extended part of the mall. I secretly hope there is still a small part of the outdoor garden left for some fresh air!

Lucky for Chilis, they are situated in G Hotel, so the restaurant is not affected. So F and I get to have a nice dinner tonight. Most restaurants closed due to he renovation, and yet to know whether they will re-open there again.

Honestly, there aren't many restaurants in Gurney Plaza. The food court is - in my honest opinion, lacking in choice and taste. Even some of the outlets offering "authentic" or "the best" is just a marketing strategy to fool people like me into believing so but the food taste nothing more than just ordinary. Others are fast food chain outlets and there are very few or no fine dining in the mall itself. I wish there are more sazzy and cool fine dining in Malls - it's common that Malaysians love to dine and shop at the same time so malls are a great business opportunity for restaurants, actually.

Back to Chilis - they had some new menus since I last went there. I decided to have the Chicken Chipotle which is battered chicken which is crispy and lightly tossed with honey. It tasted sweet. F did not like it but I did. I wish it had more spice to counter balance the sweetness. The corn was superb tonight. Juicy, sweet, and warm.

This is Citrus Fire Chicken & Prawns. F's favourite. I must learn to cook this! The dish looked wonderful tonight. The prawns looked so juicy and big today. The brocolli looks so green and fresh too (Sorry to say it usually looks dull, frozen-vege lookalike). Yes yes, I can critisize food anytime, because I appreciate good food and I hate poorly prepared/presented meals even if it is just a hamburger from a sidewalk push-cart.

Fine dining, fast food, or street food - presentation is important. You want to win your customers. You want them to come back. You want them to smile, drool, eat, devour, burp, drool again, order more, and come back again. That goes with good service too.

A few new outlets opened, one of them is a donut shop which is located in the lower ground level. Replacing Pastasia. Re-opening would be Domino's Pizza, McDonalds, and a few more fast food chain outlets. What about Burger King? My goodness, Penang does not have BURGER KING. I think that is pathetic. Seriously.

I enjoyed my dinner tonight. Maybe because I have my PNS to play around with. :-) Or that dinner was on F. The Coke Light was a bit flat though. :-(

Let's hope more restaurants will open in Gurney Plaza. Cheaper parking, say, a flat rate of RM1.00 maybe? Let's see what the management will come up with!

Fish, Chips & Salad

Why do we pair fish with chips? Protein and carbohydrate together? And why not ass some fresh greens as well while we're at it? At times when we just eat too much chicken and beef - some fish is good for a change. Healthy too, I'd say.

I've always also wondered why fish & chips are always more of a "snack" meal than a real meal. Because, I think, many that is sold out there are not real fish & chips - The 'fish' fillet is basically stuffed with more flour batter than fish itself, and served with coleslaw. Well, at least in my local area, that is.

My brother came back from fishing with a big catch yesterday - a nice, big red snapper - perfect for chunky fillets for fish & chips for the whole family. As easy as it looks, cutting the fish from scratch is a mess and something most people do not want to get involved in. Different from most western countries, in Malaysia - you most likely have to cut the fish your self.

I leave that to the experts: dad, brother and mum. Enough of blah-ing here. let's eat fish!
:: Fish, Chips & Salad ::

Serves two

6 pieces fresh snapper fillets

about 2 cups of bread crumbs

1 egg, beaten

pinch of salt

dash of pepper

some chips

cucumber

tomato

roman lettuce

1 cup frozen mixed vege

1/2 green onion, sliced

2 tablespoon thousand island dressing

1. Mix the bread crumbs with salt & pepper.

2. Dip the fish fillets in egg and cover it with bread crumbs, place aside.

3. Heat a deep fryer, fry the fish until golden brown. Fry the chips too.

4. In a frying pan, fry the sliced onions, adding the frozen mixed vege. Add some salt and pepper.

5. Slice cucumber and tomato, decorate in a big serving plate. Divide it to two equal portions.

6. Place the fish, chips and fried mixed vege and serve.

7. Top the salad with thousand island dressing.

How do you make your fish & chips? :-)

Recipe: Very Chocolate Chocolate Cookies

Adapted from The Australian Womens Weekly "The Big Book of Beautiful Biscuits", and modified by myself.

:: Recipe ::
125g butter, softened
½ cup sugar
½ cup brown sugar, lightly packed
½ teaspoon vanilla
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 3/4 cups self-raising flour
½ teaspoon salt
150g chocolate chips (semi sweet)
60g chocolate rice
60g walnut pieces, chopped

1. Cream together butter, sugars and vanilla.
2. Add lightly beaten egg gradually, beating well after each addition.
3. Mix in sifted flour and salt
4. Add chocolate rice, chocolate chips and chopped walnuts, mix well.
5. Shape teaspoonfuls of mixture into small balls,
6. Place on lightly greased oven trays, allow room for spreading.
7. Bake in moderate oven 10 to 12 minutes.

A very chocolaty recipe. The best time to eat these are right after they have cooled down from the oven.

Cajun Scrambled Eggs and HP Sausages

In the midst of preparing the ingredients for my scrambled eggs and sausages, I realised that there was no bread left at home. Being too lazy to drive out to the nearest shop to buy some, I proceeded to cook breakfast anyways.

I used to get easily bored eating eggs and sausages. Because they were cooked plain and served with what Malaysians generally are used to - chili sauce. As I grow up and started to cook my own scrambled eggs, I notice how I add a variety of other ingredients, from fresh herbs to tomatoes, mushrooms, pepperoni, etc.

So now cooking scrambled eggs have turned to become interesting. Along with sausages which I marinate in different ways each time. The breakfast itself becomes something to look forward to in addition of being naturally easy to cook.

:: Breakfast for One ::
for scrambled eggs
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon cajun seasoning
pinch of salt
dash of fresh ground black pepper
1 tablespoon low fat milk
1/2 small green onion, chopped
1/3 big red tomato, chopped
little bit of enoki mushrooms

for sausages
2 sausages
a few drops of honey
1 tablespoon HP sauce

1. To make scrambled eggs, beat an egg in a small bowl and add everything in except enoki mushrooms.
2. Heat up the pan and scramble the eggs, adding the enoki mushroom halfway. Cook until it is done.
3. Add some olive oil and fry the sausages. Pour a few drops of honey on the sausages and cook the sausage.
4. When almost done, add in the HP sauce and just keep turning the sausages until sauce gets sticky on the sausage.
5. Serve on a plate with scrambled eggs.

The HP sauce that is cooked with the sausages makes it taste so good. So it is a twist to the normal routine of having plain sausages and eating it with chili sauce. I do however enjoy having some chili sauce with the scrambled eggs! :-) Just too bad there is no bread to enjoy it with...

Delicious Biscuits

Last week, my mum and I were busy preparing for Hari Raya. We did some shopping, cooking, and cleaning up the house. I almost did not had time to take some pretty pictures of the food we have ordered and also cooked. Blame it on the bad rainy weather we had, that was non-stop for 2-3 days. There was no sun at all, and to top that, we got sick :-(

So here's some biscuits to share, some of which are my favourite.. Very Chocolate Chocolate Cookies

I made these, by modifying a Choc Chip recipe I had. It turned out just fine - as ong as my dad says it tastes good, I'm more than happy. I hope there is still some left in the kitchen for my fiance, who is still holidaying in KL :-P Will post the recipe when I can!

Kuih Bakar

A gift from my colleage just before the holiday. This was wrapped in a heart-shaped plastic casing with a note, I think it is really sweet of her to do this, Thank you Shiza! By the way, these babelicious are goneee...

Pineapple Tarts

I must say this has to be one of the "TOP 3" biscuits Malaysians can't celebrate without. The other two, in my opinion has to be Kuih Makmur (Prosperous Biscuit) and Cornflakes Biscuits. These are ordered from a friend who has been making buscuits for the past 10 years. Pineapple tarts are delicious, the pineapple preserve is cooked with some sugar, while the biscuit design like in the picture can be tough to shape especially if you're not so used to it! The end result is however, a goodie soft biscuit with sweet preserve to melt in your mouth..

Chocolate Marble Shortbread

If you have been frequently reading my blog, by now you would know that I LOVE chocolates - most cookies/cakes I bake has some form of chocolate in it, and I tend to have one rule: "Put more chocolate that what the recipe states". :-) See the thick layer of chocolate on the thin biscuit base? This is my favourite! The chocolate just won't stop melting in my mouth! My brother knew I love these so much that he always order this one for me. Thanks Idris!

Mama Carrie Biscuits

Ordered from a friend who made the Pineapple Tarts too. She has very good art skills with the drawing! :-)

Hazelnut Rossettes

My cute cupcakes. Because they involve chocolates! :-) See the recipe here.

Wishing Malaysians Selamat Hari Raya and Happy Holidays

Here's some ketupat for my readers on this beautiful day of Eid. Ketupat is sticky rice wrapped in palas leave and then steamed. This is one food that I should really learn to cook, very useful for festive seasons and special occasions that we serve with Rendang.

I am thankful to be with all my family members here, and that the heavy continuous rain for the past 2 days had stopped. According to The Star Online, the heavy rain was caused from the tropical storm Mekhala from Vietnam. Penang finally filled with a little bit of sunshine today and I hope it stays. Finally, a clear day for a good celebration! :-)