Day trip (course?) to Colmar Tropicale

Received a last minute call from the ED telling me that they needed me to attend a seminar in Bukit Tinggi and I had to reach ED within 2 hours. I rushed home immediately to pack my briefcase. Luckily the ED is merely a stone's throw from my house so I had ample time to take a shower and had a light snack before taking a leisure stroll to the ED. I reached there on time only to find that I was the last person they were expecting. Everyone was extraordinary quiet as Professor Jalil was not too happy with my lateness(?). I gave a personalised greeting to him and rushed to the back of the coach. 

We reached Colmar Tropicale after 3 hours and we were welcomed by the hotel staff. He led us to the ballroom with some refreshments awaiting us. Well, this is definitely a typical Malaysian culture. Irrespective of what type of courses you are attending, who the organiser is, who the participants are, MAKAN is always given top priority. So, we waited for nobody and tucked in happily without knowing the main objective of the course. After all, everything was paid for and I am entitled to claim for my allowance after that. 

The front view

Walking through the arch

The rear view

Oh... it looks so British... it reminds me of those taverns I used to hang out in London

Dave and Faizal even brought the tripod along

I had my tea time treat at this bakery. Meals were provided but I'd rather savour French pastries than Malay kuih.

Butter Croissant

Cheese Danish

Custard Puff

The meal was perfected with a cup of freshly brewed coffee.

I managed to finish only one quarter of each type of pastry and took the remaining food back to my room. The hungry ghosts who had wolfed down countless 'kuihs' gobbled all my pastries the moment I placed the bag on the table.

Unnamed restaurant

Went out for dinner with family at one of the local Chinese restaurants in Bercham. The food is very delicious and the servings are large. Too bad I can't find the name of the restaurant no matter how hard I looked for it. Well, maybe the owner wants to keep a low profile so he thinks that it's not necessary to name his restaurant.

Clockwise from left: Stir-fried fish fillet, Grilled pork, blanched broccoli and oven-baked whole chicken.

Lorong 16,
Bercham, Ipoh

Brekky No.5

I found a packet of Seafood flavoured dry noodles from 'Sao To' brand, HK.Without hesitation, I boiled a pot of water and chucked the noodles into the pot of boiling water. While waiting for the noodles to be cooked, I fried an egg in the pan. 

After finishing my plate of noodles, my stomach was still growling. What should I eat just to satisfy the hunger pangs? A few slices of biscuits should be just nice to  fill the tummy without adding extra load to the body.

Brekky No.4

Here is another money-saving meal! Today's menu consists of

Mocha Cake and Royal Mocha Coffee.

Brekky No.3

No other method comes more effectively than making your own food. I used a quarter packet of flour and half a slab of butter to make cookie pastry. As for the custard, I cracked 4 large eggs into a bowl and poured the right amount of syrup into the egg mixture. After that, I used a pastry cutter to cut the pastry into rounds and pressed in into the mould. I then filled the pastry shells with sweetened egg mixture till 90% full. Lastly, I baked the tarts in a preheated oven for 20 minutes and served them immediately while they were pipping hot.

Brekky No.2

This is a very simple meal to prepare as it contains only some commonly available ingredients in every refrigerator. After several rounds of calculations (which led to the murder of brain cells - not logical-mathematics minded according to Howard Gardner), I went to 'chat chai' - literally translated as little seven (7-11) to buy a loaf of bread which costs merely RM2.30. This is one of the best deal I've made throughout the week for it will last me for at least 3 days without having to spend anything extra on food. I took out two slices of the loaf and cracked an egg into the bowl. Sprinkled with a pinch of salt and a dash of pepper, I gave it a good stir. Later, I then spread adequate amount of peanut butter onto the bread slices, sandwiched  them and immersed them into the beaten egg mixture. Did not want to oversoak the bread to prevent it from becoming soggy, I drained the bread for a few seconds and transferred it straight into the pan with preheated oil. 

Dished it up after frying for 2 minutes, I drizzled the FRENCH TOAST with some Golden syrup and ...... Let's tuck in!

Homemade French Toast

Kenya Coffee  

(ground coffee given by Chad - it's free again!)

Brekky No.1

Thanks to Euro, I have just lost RM1,180. From today onwards, I have to cut down on my daily expenses in order to save enough to cover my loss. I shall start the ball rolling by introducing homemade Brekky No.1.

Grilled Pancake - to be eaten with banana (given by neighbour), jam (free gift) and butter (existing stock)

May not look as perfect as McDonald's but it's definitely fluffier than theirs

Home-brew Bavarian Coffee

Cost: less than RM2.50

Total amount saved: RM2.00 (based on normal breakfast rate - noodles RM3.50 and drinks RM1.00)

The 3 'Ss' Breakfast

I usually get up at around 5.30 in the morning as I want to be one of the earliest to reach the office (6.30 - 6.45). This is to avoid getting stuck in the traffic which will normally become congested by 7 a.m. 

This morning, I woke up a little too early so I decided to make myself a hearty continental breakfast. I went to the kitchen and started digging into the compartments of the fridge. After struggling for half a minute, I managed to find three Ss. 

Black Pepper Sausage

Bacon Strip 

Scrambled Egg  

This is definitely not a balanced meal as carbohydrates is missing from here. All the foodstuff consist of mainly protein and fat. Another type of artery-clogging food.

Full of berries

We spent almost the entire morning walking around the Agro Farm in Cameron Highlands. I am not a nature lover so was hardly attracted by the plants and flowers. Unlike my ex-colleagues from Johor who found it a truly amazing experience of visiting the Cactus farm, I wandered aimlessly from one section to another while waiting for them to complete their tour. When it was almost close to noon, Hong Ching brought up the idea of plucking strawberries in the farm. I knew that it's hard for me to turn down their 'invitation'. Bearing the heat and discomfort moving around the farm, I randomly picked any berries I could see despite being told to pluck only the 'big' ones. I couldn't wait to finish my task and leave that place immediately. After spending half-an-hour with the berries, I left and headed straight to the cafe. Since the cafe is located in the strawberry farm, almost all its food are made of strawberries.

I plucked all these...

Very lousy strawberry cheesecake

Tasteless Strawberry Pancake

Strawberry Waffle

Romaine Lettuce Juice

Tea and Scones from Cameron Bharat Plantations

On my way back to Ipoh, I drove past Cameron Tea Plantation and decided to make a pit stop to enjoy a cup of freshly brewed tea. 

 Pepper Mint Tea

 Lemon Grass Tea

 Honey Lemon Tea

Chicken Pie

Butter Scones

All three types of tea are very refreshing though they tasted a little too sweet. As for the scones, they looked very well-baked but were not as good as those I had at the Smoke House.