Piggin' Out: Puchong Ocean Ship Seafood Restaurant

Restaurant: Puchong Ocean Ship Seafood Restaurant
Address: 20G, Jln Bandar 7, Pusat Bandar Puchong
Directions: Corner lot behind Tesco Puchong
Telephone: 03 5882 8393

Last week, my dad brought my sister and I to Puchong as we needed to get baking supplies from Bake With Yen. Of course, we planned it in such a way that we'll have time for a yummy meal in Puchong. Daddy brought us to Puchong Ocean Ship Seafood Restaurant for salt-baked chicken (yim kok kai in Cantonese).

The highlight of the day: the chicken itself. The meat was delicate and very moist, not too dry as some salt-baked chickens tend to be. Not too salty as well which is great (and not to mention healthier). Costing RM25 for a whole chicken, not too bad really.

Shen and I loved the simple soup of xing kua, pork and egg. Home-style cooking at its best. RM8 for approximately 6 portions of soup (i.e. 2 bowls each).

But the piece-de-resistance for the day: the stir fried lotus root, carrots and mangetout with baby ikan bilis and lam yue sauce. Absolutely delicious!! The vegetables were fresh and crunchy and the lam yue gave it an added zing. Pa says he's going to try to cook this one day! RM10 for this. Lunch cost us RM25+8+10= RM43 + tax and drinks etc ~.

The restaurant is one of the numerous Puchong restaurants that my dad and his colleagues frequent since their office is nearby and pricing is pretty decent. There wasnt much of a crowd there when we went but we figured that since it was Christmas Eve and the holiday season, a lot of people may not be around town. On usual days, the place packs up pretty quickly during both lunch and dinner.

I have yet to try their seafood though so maybe another trip there soon?

Knit FO: Geometric shawl

This just shows how much of a procrastinator I can be. According to details I have in Ravelry, I completed my geometric shawl on 26 Oct. And I'm finally posting up pics of it here 3 months later. But, admittedly, the shawl has been put to good use in the office and so I never had much opportunity to take pictures of it until I decided to take the camera to the office.


Yarn: Jaeger Extra Fine Merino Aran, Colour - Black, 10 skeins.
Needle size: 5mm
Pattern: My own very simple design.

Here is a picture of myself in the office wearing the shawl together with dear Juliana. Yes I know I look pale and sleepy but that's how I look after staring at the computer screen for hours and without makeup!

Knit update: Juniper Syrian Shawl

I've finally managed to snap some pictures of my current WIP -the Juniper Syrian Shawl. I took it along for our little stay at the KL Hilton on Boxing Day.

Don't you just loved the colour of the yarn!? These pictures actually do not do the colour any justice at all.

Yarn: Artesano Inca Mist, 100% Baby Alpaca, Colour - Juniper, No. 8126.
Needles: Clover Takumi Bamboo 100mm Circulars, Size - 4mm.

Pattern: Shoulder shawl in Syrian pattern, Victorian Lace Today by Jane Sowerby. A really easy, mindless knit.
Modifications: None so far but I most probably am not doing the borders because (a) I can't be bothered to and (b) I think it looks simple and nice as it is. Also, I purposely made the shawl with 4mm needles instead of larger ones so that it's slightly thicker compared to the one in the book.

Progress: On my 4th ball now, 2 more to go although judging from its current size, I may not need to use the 6th ball of yarn.

Christmas baking - cupcakes for charity!

This Christmas, our church decided to have a little party after the Christmas Eve midnight mass, i.e. around 1am. This was meant for Catholics who perhaps are the only ones in their family who converted or for those who are alone this Christmas or for migrant workers who are unable to go home this Christmas.

The SFX Charismatic team came up with this idea and a few more church groups joined in to contribute the food and drinks. My sis and I were enlisted to contribute cupcakes (perhaps that's the only thing we're good at making!). So I took the day off on Christmas Eve and spent quality time with my sister Shen and neighbour Alison, baking the afternoon away.

Here's what we came up with at the end of it all. Vanilla and chocolate cupcakes with butter icing.

And here are my two partners in crime: Alison, whose chief responsibility was the decoration of the cupcakes and Shen - who was in charge of mixing up the batter and icing. I am addicted to piping bags and so I was in charge of piping the cupcake mixture into the cups (with help from Alison) and piping the icing onto the cupcakes.


At least the cupcakes looked pretty presentable when we'd set it all up in church! We used my cupcake stands that I bought from the Pavilion shop at The Gardens. Aren't they cute??


We left some cupcakes icing-free for some people who don't like their cupcakes too sweet.

Sorry Fatteh, I had to put this picture of you carrying Ma's bag! Hahaha...

The crowd...



And the rest of the foodies on offer...

Candy canes...

Turkey and roast lamb...
Some sort of ham and cheese thingy...

Minced pies...Chicken pie - which was really good! And would have been better if it was warm.

Durian puffs...
Cocktail sausages...



Merry Christmas!

* yes I know that this is my 3rd post today but I've not had time to blog for the past few days despite having so many things happening all at once. More to come as well although I'm leaving it for another day. Need to rest because it's Kar Wei's wedding tonight and I need to rush to the Palace of the Golden Horses with Ma, Shen and Evelyn to help with the decorations. Then, we need to rush home to shower and get ready for the wedding itself.

Coming up...
-Christmas Day lok-lok at Uncle James' house.
-Dinner at Iketeru, KL Hilton. (includes pictures of myself and Shen in yukata and kimono for the dinner)
-Knit update- Juniper syrian shawl WIP pictures and Geometric shawl FO pics
-Christmas carolling at home
-Christmas Eve dinner - fish head curry and salt-baked chicken!
-Review - Puchong Ocean Ship Seafood Restaurant

Piggin' Out: Hanazen, Jaya One, PJ

Restaurant: Hanazen Japanese Restaurant
Address: 43-G, Block C, Jaya One, 72A, Jln Universiti, 46200 PJ
Tel: 03-79548000
Other reviews: Angie Yong, Foodbin

On Monday, I read this post about Kissaten in Jaya One and wanted to bring the rest there to try it out. Anywhere that sells mentaiko spaghetti is worth a try in our books. But, I didn't read the fine print saying that it was closed on Mondays and so we were standing in front of a closed restaurant at 8pm that night.

Since we were already in the mood for some Japanese food, we headed to the other Japanese restaurant in Jaya One - Hanazen.

Ambience and decor: Classic, simple and clean feel. We were surprised by the decent crowd inside, which is always a good sign for any eatery.


The food: We had a medley of our favourite Japanese items.

First off was the kushiyaki moriawase costing RM32 for an assortment of grilled skewered meats, prawns and veg. Not too bad although we have had better kushiyaki at Shun (next to SJMC in Subang - I've just realised I have yet to blog about this place!!).

Fatteh had the onigiri - one each of okaka, salmon and mentaiko. RM8 each. This is his favourite thing to eat, I think. When we were last in Japan, he practically tried all the different types they have in 7-Eleven.

Rommel had the sakura chi-don - assorted sashimi on vinegared rice in a bowl. Surprisingly fresh and at RM35, it was pretty good value for money given the quality of the fish.
I had my usual ochazuke - this time it was ikura ochazuke, salmon roe on rice with some seaweed and spring onions. You then pour green tea soup on it, softening the rice and making a sort of porridge. One thing I loved about the soup here was that it was tasty enough but not too salty. In many other places where I have this, the soup is always too bland. RM16 for a bowl.

Shen was happy to see the cream cheese korroke on the menu. Of course, she ordered one portion for us to share. RM18 for this soft and creamy croquette.

From the teppanyaki counter, we also ordered the surimeika teppan, grilled squid with butter at RM18.
And finally, Shen's saba shioyaki dinner set. The fish was grilled to perfection - really crisp skin on the outside and soft and juicy meat inside.

Total bill: RM203.50 for 4 of us.
Will we go back? Probably. And we're still contemplating if we should bring Pa there, since he's so particular about his sushi.

Laduree Macaroons...

Here's what my sis brought back for me from London... Laduree macaroons from Harrods!

*sheer bliss*

Gorgeous macaroons in pretty packaging! Merry Christmas everyone!