Ho Yan Hor Herbal Tea

Pretty excited to write about this new discovery... I was introduced to this herbal drink by a friend of mine.. today, me and my colleagues went to our favourite halal Chinese Restaurant ... almost all the dishes we ordered were fried stuff.. and we knew that these restaurant used a lot of MSG... I normally felt very light headed after eating here...

 

Plus we have to walk back to office under the hot sun.... sigghhh... I tried to remain calm... I didn't knew that the rest felt the same... dizzy... so we need something to clear off the substance from our body....

 

I was introduced to this herbal drink .. Ho Yan Hor...

A heritage Chinese herbal tea since 1940s.    Descriptions   - An exquisite concoction of 24 selected quality herbs - Well known on the relief of body heatiness, common cold, indigestion and waning appetite - Natural. No preservative. No artificial colouring    I guess we are having the indigestion..... so I give myself a try for this drink...

 

I kind of like the taste... very refreshing...and they advise me to drink this with plums... make the taste better... after taking few sips.. I felt so fresh and my vision became clearer.... thanks friend for introducing this....

 

after almost 3 years working here.. I have been exposed to a lot of Chinese culture, food including this Chinese traditional remedies.....

 

Try it... if you ever had these symptoms... you can get it from any supermarket... come in a box of 10 tea sachets.... cost about RM8-RM10 per box...

British Fish and Chips with Mushy Peas

British Fish and Chips

with Mushy Peas

I have always craving for the authentic British (brei~t~ish) Fish and Chips since I left London fifteen years ago... it's like your staple ... fat chips with Salt and vinegar... argghhhh.... most Malaysian have their Fish batter with breadcrumbs... owh no!! i seriously don't like them.... and most of them has a very strong fishy taste if not properly prepared.... and they didn't serve it with Mushy peas....there are so many don't s .....ngheee

So? what other option do I have? answer to that would be... to do it myself.... and this is how my Fish and Chips look like... ah ha....

Ingredients

For the fish

Skinless dory fillet

Multi purpose flour

Corn flour

1 tsp baking powder

Ice-cold sparkling water

Salt and pepper

Oil for frying

For the mushy peas

Canned peas (boil for 2 minutes)

Butter

Salt and Pepper

Side Dish

Chips

Mayonnaise

Lemon (Cut into wedges)

Green salad (optional) 

I used watercress and cherry tomato with drizzle of olive oil and lemon

I do not intend to provide method in this post.... basically what you need to do is to prepare the batter like how you make your banana fritter batter, then dip the fish and fry them until golden crisp. Prepare the mushy peas like how you make your mashed potato and serve them as a platter... that' it.

Enjoy and happy trying....

Baked Cheesy Crab in Tomato and Herbs Sauce

Baked Cheesy Crab in Tomato and Herbs Sauce

This is the dishes that I have imagining for so long..... one fine day, felt that it's time to materialise what I have imagined.... I marry the Chinese taste with the authentic Italian flavour.... got the inspiration from a Singapore restaurant Eighteen Chefs... Click here ... we drove all the way to Singapore for this Chilli crab and it's halal...

and this is my version of Chilli crab... serve this with Mantao bread ....

Ingredients

5 fresh crabs (cut halves)

Garlic (chopped)

Ginger (thinly sliced)

Chilli padi

Tomato and Mushroom pasta sauce

Chilli flakes

Mixed Italian herbs

Mozzareella and cheddar cheese (grated)

Salt and pepper to taste

Oil

Sprinkle of love

Method

Preheat oven at 200-220 degree C

Heat the oil in the frying pan

      Saute garlic and ginger until golden brown

Add chilli padi

Pour in pasta sauce

Add salt, pepper and mixed Italian herbs to taste

Add crab (let the crab fully cooked)

Once done, put the crab in baking tin or pyrex

Topped with cheese

and bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes at 180 degree C

Side dish

Mantao bread

(you can get this from any hypermarket selling at frozen food section)

Grilled Salmon with Herbs

Grilled Salmon with Herbs

This is our simple dinner recipe which is easy to prepare.. no thinking required... scrumptiously delicious..

all you need...

Ingredients

Slice of fresh salmon 

Butter

Dill

Mixed spicy herbs

Lemon and mashed potato for garnish

A drop of love

Method

Grill salmon on a pan (strictly no oil)

sprinkle spicy mixed herbs, salt and pepper - put aside

Mix butter & chopped dill (Refrigerate it)

Serve grilled salmon and put the butter on it (melted without asking)... 

serve with lemon slices and mashed potato..

That's all

 

This recipe is so easy, which I realised that I have nothing much to write on how to prepare this... a two liner recipe explained all... try this and no regret is assured...

Ride to Krabi

Another Thailand trip for us this year.. not going to write long for this trip, but let the memories be marked for my future reference. That's the beauty about blogging.. you will never know when you need to refer back to those info. To me this is like my walking reference or nowadays people termed it as Wikipedia... I can spent hours on blog walking on my own blog. I'm not writing for others but to me it's my own infinity space where I can store my memories, thoughts and experience along the way..... 

Okay....

Back to our Thailand trip, this time we went to HatYai, Krabi and Phuket... it's my first time to Krabi and it's our first time riding on the bike to Krabi or even to Thialand. Total journey of 2000KM and alhamdulillah we safely arrived home after 5 days travelling on the bike. It's a big group and me and enche hubby were super happy for this trip....

Group Name : TTB (meaning of it? biarla rahsia)
Destination : Hatyai, Krabi, Phuket
Total vehicles :  17 motorbikes, 2 vans and 1 Vellfire...
Total headcounts : 60 pax including kids
Weather Condition : Rainy

p/s :  Most of the motorbikes are Harley Davidson... we are among the exception... tapi geng ni memang best and sempoi..... they welcome us on every ride ... so put aside our "segan" .... can't beat them, then join them... hahaha

Sempat lagi nak posing kat border.... muke fenattt after 5 hours ride.

Secara ringkasnya ... trip kali ni bersempena cuti panjang Deepavali dan Awal Muharram.... so tak de la nak kena apply annual leave lama-lama....

Briefly, our itinerary for our trip.. ride,eat, photo, ride, eat, photo.... that's basically it

Day 1 - 1st Nov 2013

3.00pm : Depart from KL
10.30 pm : Arrived Bukit Kayu Hitam border for immigration clearance
2.00 am : Arrived HatYai hotel then zzzzzzzzzzzz

Day 2 - 2nd Nov 2013

8.00am : Ready to push off to Krabi
4.00 pm : Arrived Krabi
4.01 pm : Free and Easy.

Asal pit stop gambar, asal gambar pit stop....

Jangan marah.... walaupun kami is the exception, baju tetap ditaja oleh Harley, okay... What are you staring at?

Alhamdulillah...sampai jugak kami ke Krabi.... cuaca tak menentu... kadang-kadang cerah... and kadang-kadang hujan.... tapi bikers kental katakan... kami redah je hujan ke panas....

Day 3 - 3rd Nov 2013
All day : Free and Easy

Many of us pegi island hoping.. we all , sebab baru je pegi, then we set Plan B... drive to Phuket... boley...

Tapi pagi tu, sempat lagi pergi jogging tepi pantai Ao Nang..

Damaikan pemandangan tepi pantai.....

 

Siap - siap hantar geng for island hoping.... cuaca hari ni sangat cerah...alhamdulillah

and untuk kami yang ke Phuket....

sempat singgah Phuket Premium Outlet, Hard Rock and makan ayam pulut famous kat Patong Beach.

 

the ladies 

and the guys

at HRC, Phuket

vogue mummies on board

Day 4 - 4th Nov 2013

8am : Depart from Krabi
5pm : Arrived Hatyai
5.01 pm : Free and easy... massage, makan, sleep

Gambar kenangan kat pantai Ao Nang

enche hubby

and me...

Night outing at Hat Yai town

Sweet couple ... Fieza & Zamir

Day 5 - 5th Nov 2013

4am : Depart from Hatyai
12.00 : Arrived Dealer at Juru for shopping
5.01 pm : Arrived home

Masing-masing dah keletihan..... after few days riding.. pillion pun fenats... tapi enjoy sangat-sangat.... bilalah nak dapat ride macam ni... so damn satisfied... 

Thanks to all TTBians friend for having us ride with you guys.... we felt so grateful to have all of you with us too.... memori yang akan diabadikan sampai bila-bila.. suka, duka, cemas, happy, gembira, penat, excited semua ada.....

Phuket Trip

This is another city combo trip for us.... so far we have done this kind of arrangement and alhamdulillah our trip went through successfully as planned.... it's a bit tricky to do the flight booking... but with experience... you can get it done....

Combo and multiple city trip for us

Kuala Lumpur - Jogjakarta - Jakarta - Bali - Kuala Lumpur

Kuala Lumpur - Surabaya - Bali - Kuala Lumpur

Kuala Lumpur - Shenzhen - Hong Kong - Macau - Shenzhen - Kuala Lumpur

Kuala Lumpur - Bangkok - Patayya (by land transportation)- Bangkok - Kuala Lumpur

Kuala Lumpur - Chiang Mai - Phuket - Kuala Lumpur

and next to come

Kuala Lumpur - Hat Yai - Krabi - Phuket - Kuala Lumpur (another exciting project for us... can't wait)

This year probably a year to visit Thailand for both of us.... We've been to 4 main cities and going for another 2 cities end of this year... since I have not been to these cities.... and we have been in and out of Indonesia for the past few years... I thought it will be a good vacation destination for us.... next to come..... ah ha... surpriseeeee.....

Let's get back to Phuket....

Phuket or Patong Beach is the most happening spot for tourists coming from rest of the world looking for fun and relaxing time.... put aside the "entertainment" bit....hmmm me definitely not a fan to that... we were here for the beaches... the beaches are still the best attraction for us to be here....
 

 

On our Phuket trip :

Day 1 : 

3.00 pm : Arrival at airport from Chiang Mai

4.00 pm : Arrived Patong beach by Airport Shuttle Bus 

(Cheapest to get to town ... pay THB90 per person)

5.00 pm : Checked in Hotel ACCA

5.30 pm : Rent a motorbike

6.30 pm : Easy ride around town, makan2

10.00pm : Massage and back to hotel

 

 

ACCA Hotel

Spent the rest of evening enjoying sunset and breathing fresh air by the beach side.....

Day 2 : 

7.00 am : Breakfast and Tapau for Island Hoping

9.00am-7.00pm : Island Hoping to Phi-Phi Island and etc..

7.30 pm : Checked in Nicky's Handlebar Hotel

8.30 pm : Easy ride around town, makan2

10.00pm : Massage and back to hotel

Extracted from Phuket Tour Website...

We paid THB1,700 per person for this tour

09.30-10.30	Pick-up from your hotel
11.00	Departure fom Chalong pier to Phi Phi Islands by speedboat.
12.00	Arrive at Phi Phi Leh Island Relaxing at Maya Bay, the beach featured in the movie "The Beach". Snorkeling at Loh Samah Bay. Visit at Pileh Lagoon. Sightseeing at Viking Cave. Sightseeing at Monkey Beach.
13.30	Arrive at Phi Phi Don and enjoy a great lunch at Ton Sai Bay. Spend your leisure time on the beach.
14.30	Visit at Mosquito Island and snorkeling in the crystal clear sea with colorful fishes over the huge Hin Klang Coral Reef.
15.30	Arrival at Bamboo Island for relaxing on the private white sandy beach.
16.30	Departure from Bamboo Island.
17.30-18.00	Arrive at the pier and transfer back to your hotel.

Most pictures were taken at Pileh Lagoon...

Unanimously be our favourite spot on all the Phi Phi Island's ..Pileh Lagoon is a simply breathtaking. A naturally formed lagoon with a deep sink-like bottom and shear limestone cliffs surrounding the lagoon on all sides. It's nature most awe-inspiring swimming pool................

in other parts of Phi Phi Island...

Jumping shot... gout mak ot

Ready to depart from the Islands

On our back to Phuket, the waves is very high......it took us almost 2 hours on the boat..... alhamdulillah we safely arrived in Patong...

Day 3

7.00 am : Breakfast and easy ride

8.00am-9.30pm : Easy Ride to Phuket Town

10.00am - 11.30 am: Final shopping at Phuket Premium Outlet

12.00pm : Hotel checked out

12.00 pm - 2.00 pm: Easy ride around town, makan2

2.30 pm : Depart to Phuket International Airport

5.00pm : Took flight back to Kuala Lumpr

 

Our easy ride.....

  

 

Jalan-jalan around Phuket town

Many tourist didn't come here.... most of the tourist spent most of their time in Patong Beach or any other famous beach in Phuket Island... but me and enche hubby were so curious to see the Phuket Old Town .... a very peaceful town... we came here to look for a tea... you must try their milk tea... the taste is very nice .... so we did found the tea at shop near the market area.. and bought 2 big packets to bring back to Malaysia....

There's nice photo spot for photo session....

Phuket Old Street... Soi Rommanee and History of On On Hotel.....

An hour of shopping at Phuket Premium outlet..... so many things to grab... but we're here on our last day.... time and cash is limited..... so probably coming back again next month.... being here is like going to JPO.... the layout is very similar....

Sempat la jugak beli..... baju and kasut untuk pakai masa balik

a pair from Converse

Shirts from Levi's.....

then...pecut laju-laju ke Patong Beach untuk check out from Nicky's Handlebar...a hotel with a Harley Davidson decoration concept...

Beach photo again.... we're both a beach person..... beach..beach..beach... tak pernah jemu tengok keindahan ciptaan yang maha esa..... laut terbentang luas , awan biru.... just love it

and our last lunch in Phuket.... though we had this everyday.... twice a day.... or three times a day.... we never get bored..... Sticky rice with fried chicken

and finally the famous pancake.... with chocolate and banana...

and off we go on the airport shuttle bus.... just the two of us.... no other passenger except us....

 and the driver....

went off bus right at the International departure terminal........ 

on Air Asia.....btw.. I have been nominated to be Air Asia most loyal frequent traveller... and upgraded as VIP member by Booking.com.... for this trip... i have been nominated to be Air Asia's Eye of Sky.... to provide feedback on the crew... in return, being rewarded a cash voucher.... what a saving..... will be used to contra my next flight purchase with Air Asia... thanks Air Asia

the end of Phuket Trip

I have a continuation on our Chiang Mai trip.... some photos taken from enche hubby's phone.... which I must share with you guys....

Two things about the above photos...

- We met this Australian guy that can speak bahasa and Indon language....we shared interest that Bali is our favourite destination.... and he felt so happy that he finally can speak bahasa with us... though he commented that I can speak English well.... hahahhahah

- The mango juice we had is super yummy and cheap in Chiang Mai... THB30 ... we even can afford to pay for our friend's drink... same drink cost at least THB60-THB120 in Phuket..... we were rewarded recently on our drink purchase... a cendol for two of us were paid by a couple we shared the table with...that's about life... being kind to others will be paid in kind to... just a matter of time

Enche hubby's cooking experience...

Though I told you guys earlier that enche hubby didn't join for the cooking class... but he get himself very much involved apart from being supportive to me......

 

 

His carrot carving.....

I guess he deserve for the certificate... I am so proud of you.... thank you for all your love and support... being so understanding and caring....be my travel mate with highest patient and tolerant level....

 

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