I’m not sure why we’ve never thought to try myNews Cafe all this time. Maybe it’s because I tend to associate it with being a newspaper store rather than a restaurant.

But after a full morning of shopping, we didn’t want to fuss too much with where to eat so we just plonked ourselves at the nearest table outside the cafe.

Their Combo Mix comes with a chicken chop and a lamb chop separated by a sausage, a huge heap of fries and veggies (cauliflower, broccoli, cucumber and tomato) with a choice of either mushroom or black pepper sauce. Tastes pretty good.

The Char Kuay Teow, or fried flat noodles, is fried with chicken and eggs. There’s the usual bean sprouts but surprisingly, they also top it with a heap of veggies - shredded lettuce and carrots, and a slice of cucumber.

The taste is okay but it’s not spicy enough for me. They give you a small scoop of chili paste on the side but I prefer the chili paste to be fried into the noodles itself.

I ordered the Cantonese Fried Yin Yeong, or fried rice noodle and flat noodle combination. The Cantonese style of frying noodles is one that’s practically drowning in sauce with an egg beaten into it.

myNews Cafe’s is fried with black Chinese mushrooms, chicken strips and crab sticks topped with Chinese parsley. There’s not much meat though.

What’s unusual is that they use veggies like baby bokchoy, shredded carrots and snow peas instead of Chinese cabbage and choy sum.

Tastewise, it’s excellent complete with a smoky flavor that reminds me of the Cantonese fried noodles I used to have at the stall near my childhood home.

They’re on the first floor at 1 Utama’s new wing round the corner behind Watson’s. The place fills up pretty quick during lunchtime especially now that the holiday crowd is on the loose.

And it’s no wonder, their servings are big with heaps of vegetables and their prices are very reasonable. I like their service too. The waitress noticed our table was too small and she quickly found another table to join up so we could have more elbow space. We’re definitely going back.

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Merry Christmas, everyone. Hope you guys are having a great holiday right now. Mine was very quiet, we just stayed home all day but I did prepare a nice dinner.

#1.  Do you prefer cooking with electric or gas?
Most often, gas.

#2.  How many times a month do you order out?
We don’t, simply because order outs are not available here except for a few fast food places doing deliveries now. But we eat out 2-3 times a week usually on the weekend when we’re out on errands or groceries.

#3.  How do you like your ice - cubed or crushed?
I like ice, period. The weather’s so hot there’s nothing like an iced drink. I always have ice cubes in my freezer.

#4.  Share a Christmas recipe.
You know technically we don’t celebrate Christmas but we just want to join in the fun and have another excuse to pig out, that’s all  .
I didn’t roast a turkey this year.  Instead I roasted a chicken and 3 drumsticks. You can check out my recipe for a very simple roast chicken here.

So here it is, roast chicken drumstick (skin removed) with roasted baby carrots, mashed potatoes, corn on the cob and garden salad with ham and 1001 island dressing! Forgot to drizzle on the brown gravy before I took this photo, never mind, just pretend you see it .

If you’d like to Four Foods on Friday, head on over to valmg’s blog at Fun, Crafts and Recipes for details.

I cooked salmon and shrimp linguine for lunch today. Salmon is my favorite fish. It doesn’t matter if it’s smoked salmon, raw salmon as in sashimi, or any other type of salmon, I love it. I’m someone who would really appreciate this Smoked Salmon Trio.

At Great Food this holiday season, you can save $5 off this classic Northwest Smoked Salmon Trio. Simply use the coupon code - AFFST - at checkout to get $5 off! This offer expires December 31, 2008.

Here are a few other savings offers at Great Food that expire December 31, 2008:

Save $15 on Gift Chef Case of Assortment of Gourmet Cooking Sauces

Save $5 to $20 on Gourmet Food for the holidays

Save 15% on Harvest Song 6-pack Jams Holiday Collection by using the coupon code - AFFHS - at checkout to get 15% off savings!

Save 15% on Chewy’s Rugulach packed in a beautiful gold tin by using the coupon code - AFFRUG - at checkout to get 15% off savings!

Right, if you’re running late and still have a few hard-to-buy-for people on your gift list, consider giving them a tea experience they can enjoy over and over. I’m a big tea lover and if anyone gave me either of these gifts, it’s happy days and you can count on me inviting you over to share a cuppa.

Okay, here we have the Sweet Holidays gift bundle which comes in a large tin of Creme Caramel loose leaf tea plus a steeping mug (you get a choice of colors). The 16-ounce steeping mug, hand-crafted in porcelain, is perfect for brewing a smooth tea.

Creme Caramel is an aromatic dessert tea blend of fine black teas with real pieces of gourmet caramel that will melt into the tea as you brew. Gosh, that sounds so delicious, and you can now save 22% off the retail price here at The Tea Spot.

Next up, we have the 3 Cups of Tea gift bundle, a very interesting name because the Chinese like everything in threes. The number three is associated with life, the good life, continuing good life. So it’s all good ! You can’t go wrong with a gift of good life three times over.

The tins contain loose leaf tea blends of a green tea, a black tea, and a white tea. The Green Roasted Mint features green tea & peppermint leaves, Mango Tango features a rich black tea with a tropical fruit twist, and Snowflakes features pure white tea leaf buds.

Gosh, I can almost smell the aroma, can you? That plus the fact that you save 27% off the combined retail price if you order it here.

I’ve loved all the tea gifts I’ve received . Tea warms up the heart and the feet. The tea drinkers around you are going to love this gift!

We chanced upon Jusco having an American Food Fair recently. It doesn’t happen very often so the kids just went berserk!

They grabbed two flavors of pop tarts and Reeses peanut butter cups and candy before I could stop them. Kids !

Then the cute little Pillsbury guy caught their eye and they just had to have the pancake syrup as well. Oh well, okay, since it’s been years since my last bottle of maple syrup.

Of course, with pancake syrup in the fridge, it was only a matter of time before I had to make the obligatory waffles. I found my waffle maker tucked way back out of sight and dusted it out.

Unfortunately age has caught up with my old faithful waffle maker and it no longer produces beautiful golden heart-shaped waffles. Instead it now makes two-toned waffles due to the uneven heat distribution.

Well, looks ain’t everything, like they say, it’s the taste that counts. My waffles are still the best, according to my kids, bless them . Gotta start looking for a new waffle maker.

Is it Friday again - so soon? December always seems to fly for me. Quick, let me get to this week’s questions. I’m late!

#1.  What’s your favorite crunchy food?
Who doesn’t love unhealthy food? Go crunchies. I love ‘em all especially nachos and fried wontons and muruku which is a spicy Indian snack. They come in different shapes (two shapes shown below) and flavors. I like them spicy . You knew I was going to say that, right?

#2.  How often do you try new recipes?
Not as often as I’d like to unless it’s something that looks absolutely delicious or it’s something we’re craving. I do improvise a lot though and tend not to stick to one cooking method or the same ingredients every time. I like to play around with different options.

#3.  Name a food that you almost always have in the house.
Being Asian, rice is a mealtime staple and a must-have though we’re not big fans. Instead we tend to do more bread and pasta so I always make sure I have plenty of those around.

#4.  What kind of food do you leave out for Santa on Christmas Eve?
I don’t celebrate Christmas though I love the spirit and excitement of all things Christmas. Still I think Santa needs to lose some weight so I’d probably leave him something healthy like carrots maybe .

With that, I’d like to wish everyone, especially my FFOF friends, a safe and Merry Christmas and the Fantastic New Year in 2009!

Want to play Four Foods on Friday along with us? Head on over to valmg’s blog at Fun, Crafts and Recipes for details.

I know your days are getting busier as Christmas draws near. If you’re like me, you probably have so much on your hands right now that you haven’t even had time to think about the food you’re going to be serving.

Well, to make things easier, I’ve got a round-up of great food deals here that will help make your meal planning a little easier.

And also if you’re still short of gift ideas, remember these fabulous food gifts are just a click away and will surely bring a smile to anyone’s lips.

GOURMET STATION

Save 50% off 2-day shipping of Ole English Christmas Dinner - use coupon code HS08. Offer expires December 25, 2008.

The 3 promotions below expire January 3, 2009.

1. Save 15% off any Dinner of the Month certificates - use coupon code DM8
2. Save 15% off any Soup of the Month certificates - use coupon code SM8
3. Save 10% off all Gift Certificates - use coupon code GC8

SHOCK COFFEE

Save 5% off all Shock Coffee products - use coupon code 5OFFSHOCK. Offer expires December 31, 2008.

OLD TIME CANDY

Save 5% off all candy - use coupon code 06985. Offer expires December 31, 2008.

ARTIKO CHEF

Save an additional 5% off items already on sale - use coupon code SALES5PERC. Offer expires December 31, 2008.

THE CRAB PLACE

If you can roast a chicken, you’ll never go hungry. That’s what I always say. Once you learn to roast a chicken, you just can’t go wrong even if you lose your Mom’s precious recipe or marinate with the ‘wrong’ ingredients because here, just about anything goes .

Here’s what I do when I make roast chicken. For the seasoning, I use salt and pepper.

I grab a few sprigs of Chinese parsley and a few cloves of garlic and pound them to a paste with my mortar and pestle (just like Jamie Oliver, so there ) .

I love the pungent smell of Chinese parsley but you can pretty much use rosemary, thyme or any other herbs you fancy.

Then I plop a generous dollop of butter into the paste to make a rub. Rub the mixture evenly all over the chicken, including under the skin.

Be gentle otherwise you will tear the skin like I did here. I did this in a rush so I ended up with a not-so-pretty roast chicken . Leave to marinade for 3-4 hours or overnight in the fridge.

When I’m ready to roast the chicken, I preheat the oven to 180 degrees F. Stuff a few stalks of Chinese parsley and a few cloves of garlic into the cavity of the chicken before placing into well-greased roasting pan.

Roast for about an hour or until chicken is sufficiently browned without being burnt. You can test for doneness by sticking a knife into the parts with the thickest meat. If the meat is soft and white, it’s done.

I’ve used estimates of ingredients and roasting time here because the actual amounts you use will depend on the size of the chicken you’re preparing. If you’re thinking of roasting a turkey for Christmas, this recipe works great too. Simply adjust the ingredients and time accordingly and you’re all set! Burp!!

When I was a kid, my folks would take us to The Ship every other Sunday after our swim. When I started working, I continued to frequent The Ship with my colleagues during lunch or dinner, and on birthdays and dates . You can tell I adore their steaks.

Been years since I’ve been there. Yep, life got busy when the kids came. But last weekend, we finally got to introduce our kids to a dining experience that holds a rich history for me and their dad.

Lucky us, they have a Royal Victorian Christmas Lunch set on their Christmas menu. It comes with Cream of Tomato Soup (below top) but for old times’ sake, I ordered their Seafood Chowder (below bottom) and DH his favorite Oxtail Soup (forgot to snap a pix of that).

Mm-mm, I’m speechless! My Seafood Chowder was crammed with large chunks of squid, fish and shrimps. Da best! And I’m not even paid to write this post .

There are 3 choices for the main course on their Christmas set menu. I chose the Charbroiled Black Pepper Minute Steak (below) which came with a thick, flavorful sauce that i found to be a tad salty!

The Roasted Chicken Whole Leg with Brown Sauce is simple but tastes divine…

The Grilled Fish Fillet with Caribbean Sauce boasts of a refreshingly sourish tomato-based sauce. A very nice combination.

This Santarina Mocktail (below) which is a concoction of orange and carrot juice, and a single scoop of ice cream complete the set lunch menu.

One of my daughters had the ala carte Charbroiled Rib Eye Steak which comes with a salad ahead of the main course. This steak is melt-in-the-mouth for real, not just empty promises.

My daughter was thrilled that the waiter topped the baked potato right before her eyes and she got to choose the topping from small metal serving jugs shaped like Aladdin’s magic lamp.

The kids were all over the nautical themed decor. It feels like dining on a real ship, they say. And of course, if you’re wondering if the food is still as good as it was back then, the answer is yes.

I don’t know how they’ve managed that. Everything is the same as it was 20, 30 years ago from the authentic decor to the impeccable service. And they still serve REAL food which is still value for money. Guess it’s not known as the best steak in town for nothing, eh?!