For the love of food...

I woke up a bit late than usual today. Ariana was sent to school by papa and Daniel cycled to school today...what a relief! After I picked up Ariana from school, prepared 3 dishes for lunch. Fridays are a bit more special than usual as hubby normally come home for lunch when he's not travelling. So, I spent a little bit more time in the kitchen today. Hence, the late article.

I have been going out for lunch dates with hubby for the last 2 days in a row. We are trying to spend some quality time together (minus the kids) before he travels again this Sunday. This time to India. First we went to JM Biryani on Wednesday - I had biryani with chicken masak merah, lamb and beef...oh so yummy. I've been frequenting JM Biryani for quiet a while now. The food still taste as good to me but I noticed the portion is getting smaller by day. Quite sinful as you can see the oil dripping from the dishes, but, who cares...! Then the next day I wanted to try Restoran Ubi Kayu at Taipan USJ as hubby said it was good. But it turned out to be quite a disappointment for me. For nasi campur, I prefer Restoran Jaring at Bandar Sunway. No one can beat their kerabu umbut kelapa. I like their donut too, soft and gebu to the last bite. I discovered this place when I was working at Taylor's College, my last job.

I remember when I used to work at Islamic Arts Museum not so long ago, every Friday we'd tapau lunch near the National Mosque. Onec a week the area would turn to food galore. It also resembles a pasar malam where you can find anything from food to socks, fruits, trinkets and what not. There's one nasi campur hawker that I like the most. It has the best patin masak tempoyak in the world. I never liked masak tempoyak, or anything that has tempoyak in it, until I tried theirs. I never looked back since. I also discovered Ikan Bakar Bukit Aman when I was working there. Simple dish but their air asam is the best.

When I was working at Parkson HQ in Klang a few years ago, I was introduced to the best lontong in the whole wide world by my best friend - lontong Klang at pasar jawa in downtown Klang. They have a branch in Section 7 Shah Alam, but it's not as good as the one in Klang. If you want the authentic one, go to the stall in pasar jawa.

I'm not really a food junkie. I have a friend who can tell you where to find the best ikan bakar, itik panggang and any food that crossed your mind, in any part of Malaysia. Just ask her and she'll tell you where to find it. Apparently she and her husband are much like food hunter. They travel all over the country just to eat...amazing.

I'm married to a person who is not very particular about food...and I thank God for that. Perhaps because my mom in law is not a very good cook. So, he's not used to eating good home cook meal growing up. He'll eat just about everything I prepare at home. His favourite dish is my laksa kedah. He's a fish person, so anything with fish in it will make him happy. Me, I'm a chicken person - we are not exactly a match made in heaven when it comes to food.

The kids loves western food. Whose kids don't anyway, right? Daniel is a huge fan of American burger and sushi, Kyle Harris loves pizza, pasta and Japanese udon. Ariana likes any form of noodles - spaghetti, udon, mehoon, etc. But they all share the love for one item - egg! My kids can just live with egg alone. Scrambled egg, sunny side up, omelet, dadar, french toast...anything and everything egg. You won't believe how many eggs we consume in a week. And none of them takes any form of vegetables. They fear vegetable like it's going to kill them if they put it into their mouth. I have given up trying to feed them vege a long time ago.

For Sophie, so far I've tried feeding her carrot, peas and corn. She seems to like carrot the most and peas the least. So peas is off the menu for now.

As for yours truly, I love Italian food the most. By Italian, I mean pasta, not the fancy ones. I'm not much of a rice person. And I love sandwiches. When I was in London for a short vacation in 2007, it was like heaven for me. Sandwiches were everywhere. I rejoiced the minute I saw the shops selling so many types of sandwiches. I miss the sandwiches.... Oh, I also had the best nasi goreng kampung in the world in London, of all places. If you don't believe me, the next time you're in London, go to Holiday Villa London and try their nasi goreng kampung. It'll be your best 7pound spend for a plate of nasi goreng (that is if they still have the same chef).

Oh my, I realised that this article is getting rather too long. Food is a universal language, when we talk about it we can't seem to stop. Even when we talk to stranger, the easiest thing to talk about is food. You'll never go wrong when you discuss about it, trust me. I can go on and on talking about food so I better stop at this point. Till next time...