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We were going to the movies. No plans for Mother’s Day. As it turned out, the only movie tickets left were front row seats. Whatdya expect? It’s a Saturday night. So forget the movie.

It was close to dinner time at the mall. Friday’s happened to be just down the hall. How convenient! One day too early for Mother’s Day but what the heck! We were starving!

This is one of the appetizer choices for the 3-Course Meal which my son ordered. Fried Calamari, lovely with lemon juice and salsa. Of course, he wasn’t going to eat it all. We all dug in and it was gone in three minutes.

The Mushroom Chicken Mushroom is one of our favorites. Cute name. The mushrooms are done two ways, deep-fried and in a cheesy sauce over the meaty chicken breast. The mashed potato is heavenly.

We decided to give the Chicken Parmesan Quesadillas a try. The picture on the menu looked good. It came draped in diced tomatoes and a drizzle of Jack Daniels’ sauce. I like the way it’s presented and my son assures me it tastes pretty good. I didn’t get a chance to try it. He ate it all up before my fork could wing its way over .

This Chili Garlic and Shrimp pasta is my all-time favorite. If I’m too tired to think, this is what I’ll usually order. The sauce is slightly sourish because of the capers, I think. It’s packed with flavor and those shrimps are oh-so crunchy.

I decided to give the Jack Daniel’s Shrimp and Chicken a try this time. The chicken fillet steak goes with the mashed potatoes, tomatoes, and beans… but the deep-fried shrimps seem a little out of place.

The Jack Daniel’s sauce is too sweet for me, and I wish the long beans weren’t so aged and tough, otherwise it would be perfect.

We go to Friday’s pretty often. Their portions are large by Asian standards but lately, we notice that while the prices seem to be remain pretty much the same, the portions are smaller than they used to be.

I doubt it’s because we’ve become bigger eaters. Typically we can’t finish one serving each. I used to not order at all but just eat out of the kids’ orders and even then, I’d end up really stuffed.

I saved the best for last - dessert from the 3-Course Meal. Here comes this Vanilla Sundae we’ve all been waiting to dive into. Happy Mother’s Day!!

I bought this shiny new pack of tea leaves yesterday and brewed it this morning. This is the first time I’m buying Pu Erh tea. So far, almost all of the tea I have in my cupboard are gifts from friends returning from vacation in China or Hong Kong. Great to have friends like that .

I made a thick brew, as you can see from the very dark color of the tea, almost as dark as coffee, I’d say. But surprisingly, it doesn’t taste bitter or clouded as its color suggests. It’s actually pretty tasteless.

Chinese teas are differentiated not only by their taste and quality but also have different herbal and medicinal benefits. Pu Erh tea is supposed to be good for lowering high blood pressure and increasing energy.

It’s too early to tell. I’ve only had two or three sips of the tea. Gimme, say, an hour and let’s see if I feel like break-dancing .

Happy Friday ! Is it me or did this week just fly? Here we are, another Friday and valmg has a set of questions about what’s probably our staple meat. Okay, let’s get started.

#1. How do you make chicken salad?
Mine’s real simple. Lettuce, onions, carrots, cucumbers, celery, tomatoes, croutons, raisins. I tend to use leftover roast chicken and whatever dressing I can find.

#2. Fast food chicken. What fast food restaurant makes the best chicken?
I’d have to say McDonald’s Ayam McGoreng (Spicy Fried Chicken) simply because we go there so often. It’s pretty oily and fattening. I only order it when I’m sick of burgers.

#3. What’s your favorite way to eat chicken?
Curry chicken wins hands down but there are really so many ways I love my chicken. Roasted. Deep-fried. In herbal soup.

#4. Share a recipe using chicken or take a picture of a chicken dish.

This is Nando’s Peri-Peri Chicken. It’s an Afro-Portuguese style of flame-grilling the chicken with a sauce made of Peri-Peri, the African name for the Bird’s Eye Chili (my favorite hotter-than-hot chili).

Yes, this chicken sends you through the roof, literally and lately they’ve introduced free soda refills to help douse the fire .

Remember if you want to join us, just grab the Four Foods on Friday questions from Fun, Crafts and Recipes, and answer them on your own blog.

Porridge is a great comfort food for days when you’re feeling under the weather or have no appetite. I start out with 1 cup of rice in double the amount of water. Boil on low heat so the grains get a chance to slowly open up. Add more water if it starts drying up before the rice turns soft.

I cut up a bit of pork into thin slices and season with salt and pepper, and a light drizzle of cooking oil. Meantime I have a handful of dried oysters soaking in a bowl of water. Later I have to carefully rinse out the oysters because there’s usually bits of sand caught in it.

When the rice comes to a boil, I add the dried oysters, pork slices and a handful of dried scallops, washed. Keep adding water and keep the heat low to give the porridge time to soften and a chance for the sweetness of the pork and seafood to be infused into the porridge.

When you’re satisfied with the consistency of the porridge, season to taste with salt, pepper, sesame oil and a sprinkle of chopped spring onions. That’s it, simple. You’ll notice I didn’t add a lot of oil. I like to kinda keep it plain.

Incidentally McDonald’s has a chicken porridge (below). What’s interesting about this porridge is that it’s garnished with chopped spring onions and chilies for that spicy kick (I can’t complain, they seem to know my taste ).

I’ve been tagged by Skeet to write about three random things about me and food. This is such a pleasant surprise considering that I’ve not gotten tagged on this blog before.

1. I’m a real sucker for chilies, the spicier the better. Not a day goes by when I haven’t got chilies in my meal in some shape or form, cooked or fresh.

I even have my own homegrown supply of chilies in my garden (see picture) but still the harvests are hardly enough for my consumption so I still end up buying more from the store.

2. I love tea, all kinds, the more the merrier. I brew a different tea each day - from oolong to jasmine to tikuanyin to chrysanthemum to Japanese green tea to Earl Grey to floral and fruit teas. I’m sure there’s tons of other teas out there I haven’t tried before and I’d love to try them all. Got any suggestions?

3. While I love eating and trying different kinds of food, you won’t find me driving for miles to track down a particular kind of food that’s reputed to be good. I’m lazy that way and probably not that bothered to go out of my way .

Usually at this point, I’d be cracking my head on who to tag. But thanks to valmg’s Four Foods of Friday, I have a bunch of foodie friends whose posts I love to read… and I tag three people you should definitely visit.

Corrin who, like me, isn’t predictable and enjoys food adventures

Lynne who not only cooks and sews beautifully but also loves shoes (who doesn’t! I sure do )

Anele who lives in Hawaii but isn’t tempted to try what she calls nature’s ‘funky’ foods like insects (ew!).

I can’t wait to see how this meme takes off .

Yep, it’s time for Four Foods on Friday again. Another list of foodie questions that I can’t wait to read the answers to.

#1. What brand of frozen dinners do you think are the best and why?
You just reminded me of the TV dinners my roomie and I used to gobble up in front of the TV on winter nights in California. Those were great, very unhealthy but the best thing ever, woo-hoo! I can’t remember the brand but I miss it. Anyone wanna email me a frozen dinner?

#2. What is your favorite frozen waffle or breakfast food?
Um, I don’t really do frozen waffles or breakfast food. I make my own waffles occasionally but that doesn’t count, does it?

#3. Frozen appetizers. Which one is your favorite?
I’m trying to think here. Have I ever done frozen appetizers? Nope, don’t believe I have. But I’m all for the occasional frozen chicken pie, barbecued chicken dumpling or chicken nuggets if you can call them appetizers.

#4. Share a recipe or meal made from at least one frozen food.
I love the colors in bags of frozen corn, carrots and peas. Their colors can brighten up an otherwise boring soup. So I like to throw in a couple of handfuls when I make clear chicken soup.

Now those questions were really fun to answer. Care to join us? Hop on over to valmg’s blog at Fun, Crafts and Recipes and post your answers on your blog.

BTW, if you’re a regular participant of Four Foods and you’d like to swap links, just send me a note via the ‘contact me’ link on the top of this page, okay ?

I happened to stop by Tesco on a weekday morning and saw a mountain of honeydews (or rock melons) on sale. Everyone was making a beeline for it so I figured it had to be a good deal.

Before I could stop myself, I’d grabbed 3 beautiful honeydews whose fragrance I could smell through the skin. They turned out very sweet too.

Seasonal fruits are cheapest when they’re in abundance. I tend to over-buy simply because I can’t resist the prices, and then I have to use some of it for cooking before they go bad. Fruits like pineapples, apples and mangoes taste great when cooked.

Off-season fruits tend to be more expensive so I wouldn’t buy them till they’re in season. If you’re not picky and go with seasonal promotions, you can enjoy a wider variety of fruits and save money too.

Japanese snacks hold a special attraction for me. You know why? Because they always come in such irresistibly colorful packaging and the snacks themselves are so interesting that I just feel like I’ve got to try them .

Another thing I love about Japanese snacks is they come in individual packs. It’s so easy to grab a bunch and throw them into my handbag to crunch as I run my errands.

I usually buy the plain oblong-shaped rice crackers from Jusco for my kids to take to school for recess. These ones here (below) from DH’s trip to Japan are bigger and more fancy with bits of seaweed. They have a stronger, more vivid taste that I really like.

These bite-sized crackers (below), also from DH’s trip though I’m pretty sure you can find them at most Japanese stores, are even more interesting. They’re topped with cheese and a whole almond. The cracker is sweet and crispy, the cheese is soft and salty and the almond packs a great overall crunch.

Can you imagine how the different tastes and textures will come together in your mouth? Be warned, once you start, you can’t stop with these. My kids can finish off the whole pack in no time .

I absolutely loved this week’s Four Foods questions. I just can’t wait to go read what others have to say. I think I’ve been doing this meme for 6 or 7 weeks now and the questions get more interesting every week.

#1. When going out to dinner what items do you order? Appetizers, soup, salad, dinner, dessert.
I usually only order dinner unless I’m famished or it’s a set meal that comes with the other things on this list.

#2. How predictable are you when eating out? Do you usually order a meal that you’ve had before or do you like to try new things?
If I’m crazy about something, I’d probably order it again… and again. But if I see something new and interesting, I’d happily try it. If I go some place that’s famous for a certain food, I’d try it too.

I’m only as adventurous as the food looks appealing and palatable though. For instance, you won’t find me crunching roasted roaches or drinking snake’s blood, uh-uh!

#3. When eating at a restaurant, what beverage do you like to order with your meal?
Iced lemon tea is my favorite.

#4. Name a meal that you ate at a restaurant that you liked so much you tried to recreate it, as well as the name of the restaurant and the recipe.
I love the Fettucine Alfredo at the California Express BBQ and Grill. I swear looking at this picture makes me drool .

My version of it is not as rich as I tend to play down the fattening ingredients when I’m in control.

valmg over at Fun, Crafts and Recipes always has fun questions. You must have something to say after reading my answers. So why don’t you join us and play along? It’s really fun.

I have a four-angled bean plant in my garden which is blooming right now with these beautiful beans here. It’s a shame I forgot to take a photo of my plant before I harvested the beans . Now I have to wait till the next time it fruits. But here’s a picture of my bountiful harvest…ta-da!

Beautiful, huh? Well, there’s truly nothing like freshly-harvested, homegrown beans cooked and eaten within minutes. No fertilizers, no insecticides. It has a natural sweetness you can’t get from the ones you get at the market.

Most people cook these beans (also called kacang botol or winged beans) with sambal belacan (or chilli paste). But I prefer to keep mine simple when I’m using homegrown beans because I don’t want to crowd its incredible freshness and natural flavor.

So just a few simple ingredients, that’s it.

• garlic, chopped finely
• a handful of shrimps, shelled
• a handful of 4-angled beans, cut into .25 inch lengths
• sesame oil, salt and pepper, to taste

Heat up the wok (or frying pan). Drizzle some cooking oil and add the garlic to flavor the oil. Add the shrimps and fry quickly before adding the beans.

Lastly, give it a quick drizzle of sesame oil, and a sprinkle of pepper and salt. A few flips with your spatula and you’re done. Time to enjoy the crunchy sweetness!