Famously British

There's always a time, when you have a sudden crave of certain food. It could be something you have not eaten for a long time, or something you really love!

Still remember the time when I was still in UK, Malaysian food, typically Nasi Lemak reminds me of home. I often drop by at a Malaysian Restaurant, Rumours, on Bath Street, Glasgow, just to have some authentic food from home. Nasi Lemak is a kind of luxury food in Glasgow. To read my previous review, click here or here. I'm now in Singapore, and of course, I still miss food from Kuching. 

Like I said, crave just comes of all sudden. Towards the end of April, there's this moment when I really want to eat Fish and Chips so, so badly! What's worst is that it was the time when I was about to sleep. During my university life, I can eat nice and fresh fish, chips and peas in my uni's refrectory for just £2.80! They do not use any fish but haddock! Mmmm... yum!!! In UK, you rarely get an awful fish & chips, even those from chippy shops are nice!! 



When I returned to Asia, I feel reluctant to eat Fish & Chips as bad experience told me it's no as fresh and as nice as any store in UK. Often, they would use cheaper fish, with very thin slice of flesh plus thick batter! Fish and chips originates from the Isle of British back during the time of first world war. It's famously known and available worldwide! Famously and proudly British!


I googled 'Singapore best fish and chips' (yes, Google is everyone's best friend), and the search engine suggested me a few fish and chips store and mostly are food chain. Until I read a person's blog plus I saw the website, I know the owner of Smiths Authentic Fish & Chips is half Irish and Scottish, and grew up in Liverpool. I was so excited and decided to give it a try! I do not want to go to the usual food chain. 


During Labour Day, May 1st, I, myself took the MRT to Paya Lebar and take a short bus ride to this place in Tanjong Katong. Luckily it's near me so I do not have to go too far for the long await food! 

This is it! After you get off from the bus stop as suggested by Google Map, it's just a short walk away!! I got so excited when I approach the store!

Entering the store, with the smell of the usual chippy shop, I feel overly enthusiastic! I just feel like a summer day in UK!

There it is! I ordered the legendary Fish (Haddock) & Chips! And also mushy peas! The wrap your food with paper, trying to be as authentic as possible because the Brits wrap fish & chips with newspaper on the outer later for insulation and absorb grease!

The first cut of the fish, makes me nearly tears! It's exactly like what I had back in UK!! And the chips is nice too!! Don't expect the usual fries you get from McDonalds because British chips are meant to be softer and fried with actual potatoes, not the frozen fries! 

The thickness, freshness, and size of fish is just right, and worth every penny (well, in this case, worth every dollar). The battered is just the perfect thickness and done it well! And of course, you have to eat fish & chips with salt and vinegar! That's the authentic way of eating. Not by adding tomato sauce or others! 

The mushy peas, yum, love it!!!!!!

From the picture, what do you think it is? Banana fritters? Fish fingers? Oh, no no.. It's wrong!

The famous chocolate bar that everyone should know, Mars Bars, is hidden in the batter! Yes, it is the well-known-from-Scotland FRIED MARS BARS!! When I first heard of it, I was like, 'What?! Fried Mars Bars? That's just odd!" And I didn't get a chance to try it when I was in Scotland. Scottish eats pretty unhealthy food, including fried pizza! No offence. 

This is it!!! The taste is so good that I can't describe it with words. The fusion of hot batter expect it to be eaten with something salty, instead, it's sweet in the inside for its Mars Bars!! I must admit it is sweet but I can tolerate sweetness as I occasionally eat brownie for breakfast! This fried Mars Bars is good to share as dessert with your friend(s). I highly doubt anyone can finish the whole bar. It's worth a try, especially when served hot!

When I'm typing this blog, I am already thinking when to go back there and have my newly found favourite fish and chips store? I saw many of the owner's regulars went for fish & chips, mostly expats. My first experience with them would definitely bring me back there many times! 

Smiths Authentic Fish & Chips

230 Tanjong Katong Road,

Singapore 437018 

Open all week:

1130am – 11pm daily

http://www.smithsfishandchips.com

Must-have for summer!

Friday, 22nd of April, 2011.

It was the day after I'm officially done for all my written exams, and I went out for a yummy lunch at a local Malaysian Restaurant by myself, ordering food that I love. Following that, I went for some shopping that I've been longing for after crouching myself in the library days after days of reading.

It wasn't any posh shopping just some updates to my wardrobe as the season is changing. It was Good Friday that it's an official holiday here in UK, that the town was hit by swarm of shoppers. It was really really busy.

I have my skirt, T-shirt, and my sunnies out. The weather was so warm as if I'm in Malaysia!

What's the first thing you would think of when the weather is warm and bright?? Yes, you need a UV protected sunglasses, sunscreen lotion, and of course, ICE-CREAM!!!

Glad that I live in Scotland and access to ice-cream is so easy. Oh well, to my definition, there is no season for ice-cream but it's a must-have for summer!!! My all-these-while-love-of-ice-cream is by MacKies of Scotland.

On my way home, I bought a tub of this:

Vanilla-flavoured Ice-cream is always my favourite, and goes with all sorts of toppings. As it said on the label, it's "made with fresh milk, double cream and no artificial ingredients". It's alluring that you can't resist double cream. (As always, I'm a no-no for skimmed milk, too!) When I first tried it many years ago here in Scotland, it catches my tastebud that it's so good, so smooth and very rich in flavour.

I tried it today topped with crushed honey roast cashew nuts & peanuts. Oh wow.. it's so good! Mackies Vanilla Ice Cream is the best in its world. (To be honest, it is much better than Sunny Hill Ice Cream from Kuching, Malaysia). I will miss Mackies Ice Cream!!

Anna xoxo

Malaysian Food in Glasgow (2nd Edition): Rumours Kopitiam

Being far from home always makes you feel like eating something that reminds you of it. I'm from a city named Kuching, an urban city on the Island of Borneo, which has lots of affordable and yummy food for you to taste, day to night, all day long!

There's a few authentic Sarawak food that I missed. Sarawak Laksa, Belacan Beehoon, Sotong Kangkong, and Kolo Mee, to name a few.

Here in Glasgow, there's a Malaysian Restaurant- Rumours Kopitiam. It's a place where I can eat food (not all) from home. Some of the authentic one is Nasi Lemak, Mee Goreng (Fried Noodles), Nasi Goreng (Fried Rice), and Curry, to name a few.

This is kind of like our starter. Quite heavy though. Good.

Fried Chicken Wings. Behind: Red-Ice Blended Watermelon Pearl; Yellow: Mango Sago

Me with my Singapore Laksa Noodles and a glass of Mango Sago. Singapore Laksa is different from what I get from home, the Sarawak Laksa. Singapore Laksa, I would say, more of the curry taste where as Sarawak Laksa has more coconut milk and sambal. I personally prefer Sarawak Laksa, though the Singapore Laksa served at Rumours Kopitiam taste pretty much authentic and good.

Tips: If you like spicy food and would not want to have rice, you can order this Singapore Laksa which is worth a try. It's served with mussels, fish cake, prawns, bean sprouts, as well as some meat.

Rumours Kopitiam.

There quite a lot of their menu I've tried. I will try more in future. And, just a quick review, I went there 2 years ago, click here to see!

Happy 'Chap Goh Mei'

This post is going to be in Chinese because it's about a Chinese festival~ Feels like expressing everything in Mandarin! Enjoy~

一年一度的元宵节又来临了！农历新年还过得真快，可见时间就像‘雪花’那么的飘逸。当然还记得我在Liverpool过得难忘除夕夜，被一堆可爱，和蔼可请的朋友围绕着！好幸福哦！

我们还吃了好吃的火锅呢~开心开心。虽然在那里认识的朋友只知道少过72小时，就很想已经认识了72周或72个月般。到现在，还偶尔会跟他们联系。那也在我的记忆力盖下美好的回忆！

现在，外面大雪飘逸着，好开心。虽然我像个‘乡巴佬’但没关系。在马来西亚一定不可能会有下雪，在那里等到生菇都不会，所以你要了解我。大雪已经下了超过3小时，希望它继续下到明天。那样，Glasgow明天就会有很厚的积雪，又可以堆超级大的雪人和打雪战！很棒吧！赞！

元宵节的月晚，我们会和一些同学朋友聚餐。我会煮海鲜，哈哈！不错吧！如果可以在家和大家一起吃吃饭，然后外面下大雪，一定会是个以众不同的元宵节！期待期待！

祝大家元宵节快乐！

Chocolatier

Chocolate tasting journal......

Date: 29th November 2008
Shop: The Chocolatier, Princes Square
Duration: Approximately 1.5 months

1. Malibu

In Milk Chocolate: Taste like coconut milk chocolate, not too sweet but liquor taste aint strong. [Rate: 3 of 5]
In Dark Chocolate: Better blend in dark chocolate than milk. Just as good. If you dont like it sweet, this is just perfect. [Rate: 4 of 5]

2. Orange

Milk Chocolate: Very sweet, way too sweet. Orange inner bits not that sweet. Recommended to eat bite by bite, should taste better. [Rate: 3.5 of 5]
Dark Chocolate: VERY nice. Never expect orange flavoured chocolate to be this nice. It goes perfectly well with dark chocolate. Yummy. [Rate: 4.3 of 5]

3. Coffee

Milk Chocolate: Its filling melts out! Yum! Melts thoroughly and just as perfect for your mouth! Tantalizing! [Rate: 4.5 of 5]
Dark Chocolate: Also, really nice!! You will eat uncontrollably bite after bite! [Rate: 4.8 of 5]

4. Strawberry

Milk Chocolate: The filling divided into 2 part. Top part is jam and bottom part is like cream. It is sweet, just average. A lil bit sour and just as good. Perfect for strawberry lover! [Rate: 4 of 5]

5. Mango

Milk Chocolate: Too sweet! Not as good as I expect it to be, as I love mangoes. Mango taste not strong. [Rate: 3.9 of 4]
Dark Chocolate: Taste of mango filling is more outstanding in dark chocolate then milk chocolate. Like it. A lil bit sweet but it's acceptable. [Rate: 4.4 of 5]

6. Rum

Milk Chocolate: Nothing special. Eating bite by bite, taste of rum is not protruding. One is enough, will not get another one. [Rate: 2.9 of 5]
Dark Chocolate: Liquor taste aint strong, just like any dark chocolate. It's better to put the whole chocolate into your mouth than bit by bit, so that you'll get the taste of rum better. [Rate: 3.1 of 5]

7. Amaretto

Milk Chocolate: Taste of liquor not appealing. Nothing special [Rate: 3 of 5]

8. Champagne

Milk Chocolate: No strong taste of Champagne. If eat the whole cube, its taste appears. [Rate: 4.2 of 5]
Dark Chocolate: Bitterness of dark chocolate together with Champagne filling is good. Has the taste of liquor and blends well. [Rate: 4.5 of 5]

9. Pineapple

Milk Chocolate: Was amazed by how it taste. Strong pineapple taste! Love it! You'll like it if you're a fan of pineapple! [Rate: 4.1 of 5]

To conclude, I have a question for you. "Am I bloated with chocolate?"

ONE last shot!

Just done with Ophthalmic Materials exam. Difficult to judge whether I did badly or did really well. It's the border line or just somewhere in between. I thought the exam (Intoductory Diagnostic Techniques) I did 2 days ago should be the worst of this January Diet but it seems to be a lot better. ........... I should stop judging it and look forward to the next exam coming up in a few days time, 91 hours later (from 1500hours on 16th January) to be exact.

One night, when I was browsing through pictures of friends, with food of Kuching (they are the best), seeing all those kolo mee, satay, Sarawak Laksa, sio bee and belacan kangkung. Then I felt like eating Sio Bee and the Chinese Groceries store nex to my halls sells frozen one. I made myself woke up pretty early the next morning, just to get out of my flat n buy SioBee to steam as my breakfast. It was Yummy!!

Then, I went to check my mail as a routine, once a week or so. Since I've been staying in my room, I hav not check my mail for about 10days. I did not expect I get any parcel (or bigger packed-mail) as I dont do any Online Shopping recently. HOWEVER, this came:

When I saw the stamps (I know it's a lot), I quickly knew it's from Malaysia! WHAT A SURPRISE! Then I see the handwriting for my address, it's my MUM's!! I was so touched and almost cried out (I really does), but I keep it to myself. The address of recipient is from my mum & dad!! I am really really surprised, happy and touched!! FYI, my mum always reluctant to send me anything as she said I can get a lot of stuff from UK.

My mum remembers that I always want to go back to Malaysia to celebrate Chinese New Year with them and coincidencely I hav about 10 days holiday. Travel on long haul is tiring and need to adjust my jet-lag, so it's not realy worth it to go back. Hence, my mum said she wants to send something about Chinese New Year to give me a surprise so she sent some Chinese New Year decoratives for me to hang in my room to keep me in CNY mood. I am so happy!! Thanks Mum & Dad! I love you both!

After all the tears of joy, I get back to my studies, in my small small room. My bedroom is in a mess, throwing things here n there. This is how my room looks like:

I've got caffeine to keep me awake, fruits to keep me biting (I love to eat while reading), pens, paper, music and most importantly, my brain!

I bought something pretty amazing while I was in Cadbury World, Birmingham. It's the BOOST chocolate which believes to give me energy. I thought i need that while studying so I tried:

I am not sure whether it really works for energy but I think I am wrong. Its 'Energy with Glucose' is for those who's doing sports to give them further energy, i.e. prevent from fainting while running 3k! No matter what, this chocolate is perfectly nice, better than I thought. Not too sweet and I like the bits of biscuit that is mixed within it together with Caramel, though I am not a fan of Caramel. Recommended. Rate: 4*/5

This is one of my longest blog in ages. I am just making excuse for taking a break from studies. I need to take a nap now to Recharge my Energy!!

Wish me luck in the nex exam!
Happy New Year and have a nice weekend!

what I need at the moment

Brain Juice. I NEED U SO MUCH.

I have an exam coming up in less than 10 hours time and I am a bit tired the subject. Unsure of what to study and unsure of which part to concentrate on. I stay indoor for a long time n the furthest I went today is to my kitchen to cook my lunch. It's the healthiest meal I had during my exam period. Chinese Steak + Broccoli + Carrots

it looks a bit dry but I like it.

Ophthalmic Materials, why are u so factual? It's always either-you-know-it-or-you-don't stuff! Unfair. But, I like the calculation part.

Biological timer is a bit crazy by sleeping at odd hours. It's not good, I know! Food has not been very healthy either. I have been drinking Nescafe Vanilla Latte (recommended, very nice), Coffee, Hot choc, Regular Latte as well as milk coffee to keep me awake. However, I do not want to over-drink them so that I'm not addictive. Cannot deny that i am already addicted to hot chocolate!

It's not early now so I better get back to my studies and take a good sleep for tomorrow's exam! Wish me luck!

I will blog after my exam as I hav lots of stuff to share, including my chocolate diary!

Zizzi... mmm... Yummy yum yum

Zizzi.

Went there with my dearest flatmate from last year after their Graduation Ceremony. Was really happy for them. I was thinking, it's still a long way for my turn.

Zizzi is an Italian Restaurant, situated in the very-expensive-and-classy shopping mall, Princes Square. It was my first time to dine there. Food was nice, just a wee bit pricey!


STARTER: Angelo's Mussels. Sauteed mussels with garlic, cream and fresh parsley. I think it taste alright. Not as delicious as the mussels i had in another Italian Restaurant -- The Italian Kitchen.


STARTER 2: Antipasto Zizzi. A selection of prosciutto crudo, salami Romania, coppa, smoked mountain ham, buffalo milk mozzarella, marinated sun dired tomatoes, mixed olives and red onion. Personally, I think it is good, real good, just heavenly for a starter.


MAIN COURSE 1: Sofia. Pizza with spicy chicken, pepperoni, oven roasted sausage, tomato, mozzarella, finished with green chilli and fresh rosemary. It's not the best pizza but it taste unique and i quite like it.

We also had another pizza called (MAIN COURSE 2:) Trentino, which is quite nice and refreshing with all the basil leaves as topping. I do not have the picture of it.

MAIN COURSE 3: Penne Della Casa. Pasta with smoked pancetta bacon, roasted chicken, creamy mushroom sauce and baby spinach finished with grated grana padiano cheese, baked al forno. This is a really really good pasta. Very recommended!


DESSERT: Torta Cioccolata. Rich chocolate torte on a thick hazelnut chocolate base, served with vanilla mascarpone. It is really rich but not as sweet as i think. It is nice though. I like it.

Overall, I give Zizzi 4 ot of 5. Credits to its environment as well.

After that, i took some picture of Prince Square with Christmas Tree!

Love that Christmas is coming!