Watch this super noodle...

Jon brought back some noodle on Friday, 12 April, 2013. I tried some and found that the noodle was cooked with chili powder. Since non of us like something this hot, we just left it on the table.

On Saturday, I found that the noodle still smell fresh and no sign of decay! Yesterday, there was still no sign of decay! So, I decided to move it to the kitchen and put a bit on this plate to see what would happen from now on. The rest has been discarded.
So, for those who like this noodle... watch this page to see what will happen to the noodle....
Update: 17-April-2013
I forgot to take a photo of the noodle yesterday. So this morning, I found the noodle suddenly turn moldy!

In another word, it took 6 days for mold or fungus to grow.
Without preservative, it normally take a day or less for the noodle to turn slimy. In this case, the noodle just becomes drier and no rotting.

Does this mean that this noodle is full of preservative?

What are they actually selling??

I looked at the label and saw "Thai Style Rice" and without looking at the ingredients, I thought this is Thai Style vermicelli, ie, rice noodle.

They look like reasonably good. So I bought two packs home!

I cooked it two days ago and found that it is tougher than I thought. It is definitely not made from rice. At one point, I thought it is the green pea noodle （东份）. It is chewy. So I decided to check the ingredient...

... it is actually made in China and made from corn starch. Not rice at all! How upsetting.
Although honest (I hope) on the label, it includes Sodium polyacrylate which is a super absorbent polymers (sometimes taken to refer to plastic).  Next is Sodium dihydrogen phosphate, which is supposed to be used as laxative.
The last item is Xanthan Gum which seems to be a very interesting. It is widely used as food additive.
Now, I am unsure ....

... can this thing be eaten?! No wonder it has such a foul chemical smell when I opened it.

What is in the food you are eating?

More than a month ago, I left quarter can of evaporated milk in the kitchen. I opened the top and left it there thinking that mold will grow and ant will come to make a feast out of it. But I was surprised that after a few days, nothing came to have free meal. I continue to leave it there and finally, after more than a month, some black mold formed.  I decided to scrape the brown solid which has now formed.

 So what did the manufacturer added into the evaporated milk to make it so poisonous to mold and other insect? Looking at the label reviews literally nothing!

For the benefit of those who don't understand bahan-bahan (ingredients), google translated it for me: milk solids, refined palm oil, contain stabilizers and permitted food emulsifiers, vitamins A and D3

There is no mention of preservative, etc. Am I right to assume that there are a lot more to the list?

Just in case you are not aware, this "milk" is a vital ingredient in a lot of food - ice kacang, cake, drink, etc. So better eat less! The above is from a very famous brand with two red letters only.

Urbanised birds

I took this pictures at one of our local eateries... the birds were waiting for people to move out...

Once the people move away, they came for their fill!

When I was just a  small boy, I remember that these birds used to feast on our padi field. We really don't like them because they have huge families!

Now, padi is gone but processed rice is everywhere...

Free meals, buy 1 free 2

Perhaps this is the best deal of the century from McDonald. I think what they are doing is to try to develop the eating habit of the locals so that they will "Think breakfast, think McDonald!". But to change the eating habit may be a little difficult for many as we still think that char mee, kolo mee, etc, are still tastier. But who knows, they may be successful to attract more breakfast dinners.
So, we went to McDonald at almost 10:30AM on Saturday. We were a little disappointed because our favorite was not on the menu or rather the price had gone up by almost RM2! Also, some of our favorites were "sold out". I saw one angry customer storm out of the store yelling "bodoh"! Haha... ok ok... my son told me that in the morning, there was only one queue and you have to wait for 30 minutes! Oh, we ended up not buying anything on last Saturday. The boys were disappointed.

First drive through McDonald in Senadin, Miri.

Outside of the restaurant.

The queue inside the restaurant last Saturday.

Two Free Breakfasts for You

I just came across this McDonald coupon which entitle you for two free breakfasts if you spend just RM5! So, just click on the image below, and download the full size version, print it, bring to McDonald outlet and spend RM5. I have tested it and it is for real! Or, click here for the coupon.

Have a nice meal!

Wagyu Beef (和牛)

I have the opportunity, perhaps the only one, to ever tried the wagyu beef from Japan. I asked for medium done, 150 grammes. When it was being served, it looks great and smelled very good.

Japanese beef sirloin steak grilled with teriyaki sauce.
Taste wise, it is very different from the normal beef. It is tender and tasty.

In this particular Japanese restaurant, this beef is served in 3 different styles. Ok, if you want to try, close your eyes and ignore the prices! And, ...

... if you see this restaurant, Rakuzen, just hop in and order any one of them. They are all very nice. This is perhaps one of the best Japanese restaurant chain in KL.

Home made organic noodle...anyone?

My friend is an 'organic food" freak! He has been making his "organic" noodle for quite sometimes. From preparation to completion, it took him about 15 minutes only...
From here to "ready to cook", it took about 3 minutes only. First, organic flour and eggs were mixed and pressed into cakes. Then rolled into appropriate thickness like the above ...
... using this machine which double up to "slice" ...
The noodles were separated into "roll" and just pushed into ...
... the wok with the boiling soup base.
As soon as it was boiled, it was ready to be served. Delicious!
For details on the noodle making process, please refer to my other blog by clicking here.

Unique traditional Business

I was at Chop Chin Leong over the weekend to buy traditional biscuit and I found the people there busy making all kind of cookies/biscuit. So, I take permission to snap pictures to put it on record this very unique trade which is still very labour intensive. I figured that this trade may not last forever unless the younger generation shows interest to continue ... or if there is automation to help in the production.
I call this "old hands" or expert at work!
The classic name... Chop Chin Leong.
Red Bean pastry.
No idea what is the English name but the filling is white.

Peanut sweet...my favorite
Packed and ready for distribution.
Red bean puff...another favorite
They also sell their own sweet puff/pastry at their own shop.
Group of experts at work
Shaking of excess sesame seed from the peanut sweet.
This is where the red bean paste is cooked.
One of their young and handsome workers!
Pastry going into the gas fired oven for baking.
By the way, can anyone tell me the correct term for all these? Chinese pastry, sweets, puff or something else.

Locally Produced Grape

When I was young, my neighbour had a grape tree and it managed to bear some fruits. I still remembered that they were very small and sour.
My friend in Miri planted a grape tree and it is bearing fruits all the time... not a lot but they are very "tasty". They are small in size and the bunches are quite small. It must be a combination of weather, soil, etc which causes this problem.

Rakuzen - Japanese Restaurant

Last Nov (2009), Ah Jon, myself and 2 friends went to this Rakuzen Japanese Restaurant in Subang Jaya, just opposite Subang Jaya Medical Centre (Sime Darby Medical Centre) to try out their food. After the meal (cost RM250+), I can safely recommend you to go there to try it out! I think the price is very reasonable. Below is some of the food we ordered. Forgot the name already.
The entrance
Green tea
Eel

Beef - very tender and nice

Beef roll ... tender and tasty
Japanese curry rice
The interior

I experienced many "first" in two days

Although this was the third time I went to visit longhouses, stayed and mingled with the folks there, I still had many "firsts" experience....
Fried fresh sweet corn...
Not sure of the actual name... fermented salted fish. Very strong taste!
Talking holy communion with bread dipped in the "wine"...
Although this wild orchid literally lined the main road between Miri to Sibu, this was the first time we actually plucked them in the kampong!
I never knew that rubber seed can be eaten! On the left is salted rubber seeds. They taste ok but salty.