Putu Bambu Durian @ Putu Bambu Mek, Melaka

So I noticed that Blogger has an app! This makes blogging much easier for me because Im very swamped these days and the only time that I have would be spent on bed. So this helps, I can blog from my phone when I'm resting in bed hahaha

The only problem is that I cant seem to find the words alignment option. Hold on gimme a moment to get use to this.

Nope, the app cant do. They still got a lot of fixing to do before I can properly blog there. Anyway, Im still blogging with my mobile but Im using the website view instead so thats okay.

Wanted to introduce to you this new putu bambu stall in Melaka but this was in my draft months ago so... its not so new now LOL 

But if you are a durian fan and you cant get enough of all things durian then this post is for you! You know, the durian season is coming to an end after all.

Putu Bambu Mek

Right next to Klebang Coconut Shake!

I'm back typing using my laptop because mobile blogging just can't do for me especially since I'm rather particular with spacing and font size etc. Okay, a little story about how I found this. It was that evenful day that we were in Melaka as a detour before we head back to JB. Obviously, Klebang coconut shake has become a ritual whenever we step foot in Melaka but unfortunately it was close that day! Dang.

But at least the trip to Klebang wasn't wasted because I noticed a new stall right next to it! It's right at the main road so it's easily spotted. What caught my attention was the word "Durian" LOL

This! Very catchy from the main road so you won't miss it

Prepping my orders

Despite the stall being quite clean, I dont know why were they so many flies around. Ya, I know like I'm contradicting myself but I know a clean stall when I see one. Can see that they took the effort to maintain hygiene but the flies... oh gosh, might make some think twice.

I didn't care much though because I saw my putu coming out pipping hot from the steamer and roller over clean shredded coconut so I just closed one eye about the flies buzzing around the ordering corner.

I chose a mix of durian putu (in yellow) and normal putu (in green)

Generally its easy to look for good putu in Melaka because they are, afterall, famous for their gula melaka which is an essential for this snack. The durian putu however was not up to my expectation because it smelt better than it tasted la. So basically you smell this really thick durian aroma in the air but once you put it into your mouth, you barely taste any durian.

I was actually hoping to taste little chucks of the fruit which sounds rather impractical but yeah, they could do better. Prices at RM4 if I've not recalled wrongly, it still makes a pleasant snack to have by the beach. Yes, the beach is just behind you as you place your order.

Dima Restaurants: Bukit Beruang & Oasis Damansara Ara

It's a busy time for me now because I'm rushing to churn out a paper for a conference. Recently attended this training on NVivo software that is really a God sent! I used to analyse data manually when I had fewer transcripts. But for my PhD the data is a little too massive for me to do it manually. I mean I can but NVivo really helps me organise better. 

Big hugs to the one who got me Nvivo to be installed in my lappy. Anyway, why am I talking about this is because I can't sleep and decided to continue on my data analysis but my NVivo is not working! GRR.

So I decided to use my awake-ness to blog if not I bet I won't have time to blog till somewhere in November. Yikes! 

I went to Melaka for a extended family trip last month. Since we were in Melaka Naomi was bugging me to take her to the Shawarma shop. According to her, they have the BEST shawarma! We manage to make a quick trip to Bukit Beruang to get the Shawarma while they check in the hotel.

Dima Restaurant

Bukit Beruang, Melaka

Facebook

There you have it! An easily spotted side lot shop

Shawarma maker

The workers there look very middle eastern so I trust their cooking skills. I mean who would be a better chef than the food native right? He wasn't very smiley though LOL Oh well, as long as he cooks well.

One whole bag of Shawarma

The story of the Shawarma is this. Oh ya but before that, in case you don't know what is a Shawarma, it's a marinated chicken wrap. I have never tried Shawarma before this because I'm a kebab fan. Naomi was raving about Shawarma since her Langkawi trip so I decided to give it a go.

Intially I ask Naomi to pack us one each thinking that it would be quite pricey. They would cost at least RM8 elsewhere. Wasn't sure if it was really as good as raved so I decided to play safe. But when she came into the car and told me that one Shawarma only cost RM5 I asked her to go down and get more HAHAHAHA

Where else to find RM5 authentically made Shawarma!!!! 

Took this picture to note the address of the other outlets. 

So they do have an outlet in KL! It's located at Oasis Damansara Ara. I was a little skeptical when I was told earlier that we have a Dima in KL but now since it's officially imprinted on their plastic bag I cant argue right? lol 

When  I came back to KL, I visited Dima again in Oasis Damansara Ara! I'll be writting about it later on in this post so hang on.

Here, the exact address of  Dima Melaka

Rebecca enjoying her Shawarma

For a RM5 Shawarma they are really generous! Thick juicy chicken chunks in a warm wrap

Okay, I just noticed that there are really fries in the wrap!

Naomi told me that authentic Shawarma has fries inside. Her Arabian friend told her one. I was thinking why was she telling me that because I didn't realised the fries in my Shawarma but she insisted that hers had. Okay, so now that I'm reviewing the picture I see the fries HAHAHHA

I was probably too excited that it cost RM5 and was distracted at how nicely wrapped and warm it felt in my hands to bother about fries. Talking about fries in Arabian food, I am a bit perplex. Fries is a western thing right? But whenever I have Middle Eastern meals I realised that they have fries as side dish! And now, fries in Shawarma marks a good Shawarma? 

So yeah, the Shawarma from Dima Melaka was good. Not mindblowingly awesome but it was pretty good! Maybe I too used to having Kebab la. But one thing for sure, Shawarma taste 100000x better than Falafel. Falafel is a vegetarian wrap I suppose- the fillings tasted like they were made up by some beans.

Dima Restaurant

Oasis Damansara Ara, PJ

This is the PJ outlet

Picture for address

So we decided to pay the PJ branch a visit hoping that it would be as good and cheap as the Melaka one so we need not travel all the way to Melaka for Shawarma. Nope, I'm not kidding Naomi actually did that. Well, I would too for my favourite food. Maybe not Shawarma but Asam Pedas LOL

A proper order this time

This time we went there for dinner so we ordered a full course meal. The other time in Melaka, the Shawarma was just for teatime snacks. So this time in PJ we had Chicken Mandy (thats the chicken on top of the rice) and Malawah bread with Hummus. By the way, Malawah is my favourite bread because it's like crispy pancake! Mad loves!! When it's served hot it goes so well with Hummus, which is chick peas.

The Malawah bread here was not bad, I tasted better but it was really not bad. The hummus wasn't as tasty as the places that I've been to. I've been to one Arabian shop somewhere near UIAM when I met my supervisor from US. OMG, that is like one of the best Middle Eastern shop everrr!! I didn't note the name of the place though, dang it.

One more shot

The Chicken Mandy was not bad too. I tasted better but still okay la. One of my favourite Chicken Mandy is opposite Sunway Pyramid. That's like the cheapest and one of the yummiest Chicken Mandy. 

When I first had this dish, I was a little disgusted by the look of the chicken because it looks so weirdly coloured and had a stale chicken texture. When served with tomato cordiment I was a little mood out because it looked like wet cubbed tomatoes (not my favourite vege) but behold! When I had the first bite I fell heads over heads with this dish!!

Btw, Middle Eastern food keeps me full for a longer period of time. Was wondering if anyone else experienced the same thing? Maybe it's the Yemen spices? lol

Shawarma

So the star of the day arrived! First difference I spotted was that the Shawarma was cut into two. My sis was a little dissapointed that it was served that way LOL I didn't mind the presentation if it tasted as good but... to our horror it tasted nothing like the Shawarma we got from Dima Melaka!

This had so much onions and the Shawarma scent wasn't there. It's more expensive than the Melaka one also! I think it was like RM8 or RM9!!! Definately can't compete with the Melaka one. So this means that we still need to travel to Melaka for good Shawarma after all LOL 

Actually yesterday, I had dinner at Saba Restaurant, Cyberjaya and they have really good Chicken Mandy. Didn't try their Shawarma but they have them too! But why all these yummy Middle Eastern shops for far awayyyy:(

But!! One plus point for Dima, Oasis Ara Damansara is that they have ice- cream! WOOT!!

Vanilla and chocolate swirl with coloured sprinkles. Very cute, I like!

The side that has more hundreds and thousands, teehee

Not a fan of sprinkles? Choose chocolate syrup instead!

Ice- creams are always fun to have so even if Dima's ice- cream is nothing to shout about I would still recommend! 

Okay, till the next post! I have so much to blog about!! I've pending Kuching food blog to write but I really have insufficient time. Even if I had the extra time, I'd rather lay down and rest hahaha I just thought of how I could still analyse data manually while I wait for someone to help fix this NVivo problem. 

Catch you later!

Batu Berendam Coconut Shake, Melaka

It's the last day of year 2014!!! Tomorrow marks a new year and I thought that I should blog about something nice instead of an angry post about yucky food that I'm suppose to write about LOL So the other day when we drove back to JB for Christmas, we stopped by Malacca for a pit stop.

Since mum wasn't with us, we could go wherever we wanted whenever we wanted HAHA Decided to try out the Coconut Shake Batu Berendam that is apparently better than the Original Klebang Coconut Shake. 

I've tried the Klebang shake and I thought that it was very good and cheap! So naturally my expectations for Batu Berendam's shake was high too. I'm not too sure about the location exactly because we used Waze GPS so I googled for address.

Batu Berendam Coconut Shake
Jalan Batu Berendam

The coconut shake stalls can be seen easily from the main road, if you miss it just keep right and make a U-turn.

It was about 12pm when we arrived and it was drizzling so I stayed in the car and let my sisters jump down to pack us some coconut shake. She told me that you would need to place your order in the shop opposite the tent. 

I read somewhere that Batu Berendam Coconut Shake opens daily from noon onward (except Sundays).

This is the shop that you place your order for coconut shake

I found that a little weird because in other blogs, I saw pictures of the coconut shake being blended at the tent area. I was (and am still) suspicious about if I got the right Batu Berendam coconut shake:S This is the only coconut shake in Batu Berendam right, Malacca people? 

Anyway, we all got the Coconut Shake Special, RM2.80 if I've not mistaken. Special means coconut shake topped with addition vanilla ice- cream on top.

Batu Berendam Coconut Shake, RM2.80

Coconut shake, topped with vanilla ice- cream and chocolate spinkles

Batu Berendam Coconut Shake tasted quite yummy too but I'm still in favour of the Original Klebang Shake. Somehow personally, this shake tasted a little too sweet, as if their proportion of ice- cream to coconut juice was larger. The sprinkles weren't necessary for me too, maybe because I'm not too fancy of sweet stuff.

All in all, it's still a good coconut shake with good differences if compared to Klebang's. It's like comparing KFC to Popeyes, both is equally good in their own ways. That being said, I think I'll go back to Klebang if I'm craving for coconut shake.

"Why so Ugly?" #insidejoke

Cheers! Happy New Year

Oh, I might as well write about a very yummy, comparable Coconut Shake that I discovered in JB!

Ondeh- Ondeh Fresh + Klebang Coconut Shake + Li Wei Kerang Rebus, Melaka

So I made it through half of October despite it being a rather awful month for me. But! I've some good news-  my claims has been approved! 

This post is about a few food/ beverages that I tried out in Melaka a few weeks back. I was there for 2 days 1 night so it was a very short trip but it was worth all the rush!

Ondeh- Ondeh Fresh @ Kedai Aku & Dia

Jalan Hang Kasturi

Shop entrance

Happier note. I went to Melaka a few weeks ago and I guess there's nothing much in Melaka except for Jonker Street and Coconut Shake of which both I enjoyed!

Remember in this post where I mentioned that I will introduce to you one of the most yummy onde- onde kuih? Well, there you have it! 

Literally Fresh Onde- Onde

You know what makes good onde- onde? First, the flour should not be too thick. Just thick enough to hold the fillings. Two, the fillings which is made up of Gula Melaka must be generous and it must be melted nicely. So once you bite on this lovely ball, the sweet fillings will pop! in your mouth hehehehe BEST!

Fresh Onde- onde

The aunty makes the kuih there and then, popped it into a pot of boiling water (with pandan leaves) and when the onde- onde is ready she will scoped it up and rolled it over shredded coconut then bungkus!!

6 small pieces, RM2 but damn worth it!!! Everytime I'm there I'll never fail to patronise her shop. Last time it was only her but this time when I went she had a helper already. So yummy!

Klebang Coconut Shake

Jalan Klebang Besar

(Next to a petrol station, Shell I think?)

Take Away Stall

So if you want to order your beverages for take- aways then you would have to hop by this tent/ stall and make your order, wait for order, pay and leave happily with coconut shake!

That's what we did that time when we were there. We packed coconut shake to be enjoyed in the car. Actually the enjoyment lasted lesser than 10 minutes because I slurped up all my coconut shake within seconds :P

The queue for take away coconut shake

Really efficient workers, super speedy workmanship without compromising quality!

Trolleys of coconut

Take away (outside) Having there (inside)

So if you decide to have your coconut shake there itself you will have to drive or walk inside where you will see another tent set up. After your orders, they will help send the drinks over to you. All you have to do is chill:D

Tent where you have your drinks there and then

I didn't notice the security guards posing till after I review my pictures haha

Lastest opening hours

As of 2014, this is their opening hours. We were there at around noon for our drinks, the queue wasn't too bad. My sis said that the last time she was there the queue was longer.

With take- aways

Coconut Shake Special, RM2.50

I love the coconut shake because the coconut water blended/ mix very well with the ice cream! And they had this little tiny bits of coconut flesh for you to chew on so it gives a really nice texture to the drink!

I love chewing while slurping and that's why I love Chatime!! My new found love is Chatime Milk Tea with Pudding! Who knew it will taste so good? Pudding so tender, once slurp it goes through your teeth, glides down to you throat. Yums!

Oh, coconut shake special means extra vanilla ice- cream on top. Normal coconut shake is without ice cream on top so cheaper by 50sen. But 50sen only so gimme more ice- cream please! teehee

Coconut water, RM1+

Where to find such cheap drinks!!!!! Coconut water for RM1+ so cheappppp!!! If you have coconut at some mamak shop it will easily cost you RM5!

I really thought that the Klebang Coconut Shake was worth every penny! But my friend told me that Batu Berendam's Coconut Shake taste better. Can't wait to try it out!!

But then again, my other friend told me that both are similar LOL I'll venture for Batu Beremdam Coconut Shake soon anyway!

Kerang Rebus Li Wei

Jalan Bunga Raya

I'm hopping that that's the name of the stall because I don't know if it's Li Wei or Capitol Seafood but it was the only stall there so even if you make it there you wouldn't get confused LOL

Entrance signboard

Another banner

Sotong Kering

Backlane stall

Not the cleanest place to eat. I heard rats running around and mosquitoes were feeding on your blood for free like some sort of supper. But this place was recommended by my sis of which had been introduced to by her friend from Melaka.

Oh, when I left waiting to foot the bill I heard sounds coming from the canvas (the roof of the stalls). Those rats were doing some exercise up there too! HAHA

This is really a back alley as you can see

There was no parking there at night around 9pm so we just simply parked at the side of the road despite it being yellow line, thinking that it was already so late so the traffic police wouldn't be there to issue a summon right? WRONG! We got fined!

One of the reason why we decided to risk it other than it being late is that we thought the food service would be quick! Anyway, we are there for Kerang Rebus and Rojak so how long can it take right? 

Just chuck your shell fish into the boiling water, toss and serve with super yummy dips. Just slice the fruits, tofu etc and then toss with super delicious lime flavoured rojak sauce.

But no, we waited for nearly an hour for our food to arrive.

Will I return? Maybe.

I loved the rojak sauce though. Why so smart one? Never thought that sour plum sauce would go so well with rojak sauce! Major LOVES!

The End. 15 days more to pay day:(