Fong Ip Cafe in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia

Today's Malaysia post will be about this local café in the city of Kota Kinablu.

So, I may be a bit biased about this place (my uncle's shop basically), but I really do enjoy the environment and food here!

If Anthony Bourdain ever sees this, he needs to go to Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia and my uncle could seriously be his best tour guide, hehe >.<

Fong Ip Café was named for my great-grandfather, Fong Ip, and Fong is their family name (so in Western terms it would be Ip Fong).

My brother and I outside of Fong Ip Cafe

My grandpa eating breakfast at Fong Ip. Look at him rock that Boeing hat though!



If you are ever in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia, please go check this place out! And if you just so happen to go there on the day my uncle is working, definitely chat with him! It seems like he knows everybody in the city and he will tell you how to eat all these different foods and what pairs well with what. He's basically a social butterfly and he always chats up tourists that happen to stop by in the shop. His name is Dominic and tell him I sent you! There's a great mix of local flavor and more comforting ones that you may be more familiar with if you are a tourist, and of course, some Durian items for the more adventurous type! My uncle will gladly help you pick out what best foods to try,



A look at the menu featured outside the shop.

Yes, that's right, deep fried durian!

 

A look at the deep fried ice durian

My uncle will definitely teach you how to enjoy this little treat. You take the dried li hing, place them inside the calamansi/kitchai, and as you squeeze the citrus fruit into your mouth, you get a flavor explosion of sweet, salty, and sour and it is so refreshing!

The café serves up 'economy' food which is basically your every day types of food found in Malaysia such as fried rice, fried noodles, and little dim sum-esque types of items. Along with that, there is a set menu of other items you can order to be made such as an American-styled breakfast, kon loh mee (dried sauce style noodles) and the ever-so-popular Laksa (spicy seafood type of Malaysian noodle soup dish!) and Nasi Lemak (coconut rice with curry and other side pairing).

Dim Sum style food, look at how massive that Okra/Lady Finger is!



Nasi Lemak



Curry Laksa.
You have to try it three separate ways. By itself, with the sweeter chili paste, then all together with the hot sauce!.

Simple economy styled foods: fried egg, fried rice, fried noodles

Kon Loh Mee

Then there are also many varieties of bread pairing choices available, from butter and kaya (a type of coconut jam) to even a durian puree! You can have it served fresh or toasted, but either way, you should really try ALL THE BREADS! they're so good! Then there's also another classic dish that my uncle wanted to serve because my grandpa taught them how to eat it which is the classic two soft boiled eggs served with soy sauce, white pepper powder, biscuits and/or bread.

Fresh bread with Kaya and Anchor butter (from New Zealand)

Toasted bread with durian puree and butter

Toasted bread with condensed milk and butter

Typical breakfast. Hot tea with milk, soft boiled eggs w/ biscuit crackers, and fresh bread with kaya and butter

After the soft boiled eggs are cracked, you add some soy sauce and white pepper powder.

Mix the delicious egg mixture together

Drop in your biscuits so they soak up the egg and soften

Or if you're like my grandpa, he likes eating his soft boiled eggs with the fresh bread =)
I am enjoying a toasted kaya and butter bread with a hot Milo (a type of chocolate drink)

 

There are also a bunch of different drinks that are all good and there's something for everyone. If you are into coffees, you can have them served hot or cold, with milk, with sugar, with tea, whatever you like. Then there are the different milk tea choices to pick from too. I love the Milo with milk and served hot and my other favorite 'susu kawin bing' which roughly translates to married milk over ice. It is a nice sweet mixture of milk and condensed milk I believe that is just so comforting. For something refreshing on those extra hot and humid days (let's be real, it is hot every day there!) I love the lemon kitchai hamoi bing which is lemon, calamansi (a type of Southeast Asian citrus --kind of looks like a key lime but with a more intense flavor) dried preserved plums a.k.a. sour balls a.k.a. li hing mui and a sugar mixture all over ice. It is definitely up there on my favorite drinks of all time. If those don't float your boat, there are regular canned sodas from the popular F&N company located in Malaysia as well as bottled water, yogurt drinks, 100 Plus (like a carbonated Gatorade), etc.

Lemon Hamoi (li hing dried preserved plums) Kitchai (calmansi) bing (iced).

My toasted bread with a warm Milo .

Susu Kawin Bing

This is the place if you need to sit and have a nice meal with friends or by yourself, whether you need it to be quick or take it to-go. It can get pretty busy and crowded, but most people just enjoy a quick meal and seats will open up. Also, there is free Wi-Fi here, so bring your laptop and smart phones and take advantage of it while you can!

  

People eating at Fong Ip and watching some TV.

View from the other side.

Table full of food!

    

Oh, and there's me doing a flag on a street sign right outside ^^

Readers, have any of you been to Malaysia or are from Malaysia? Anybody try Malaysian food? What are your favorites?

Limited Edtion Calbee Meet Ghost-Bat Halloween Snack Borscht Flavor: Review

 

In spirit of it now being October and Halloween coming at the end of the month, I thought I would squeeze in this little product review on a Limited Edition snack I bought while I was in Hong Kong!

 

This snack is from the brand Calbee (one of my favorites for making different varieties of chips and stuff) and I found this while I was in a 7-11 in Hong Kong. Now, the cool thing about these chips is that not only are they a limited edition flavor, BUT, they're also in these cool ghost and bat like shapes!

 

 

 

This one in particular is Borsch flavored. Borsch or Borscht is a type of soup that originates from Ukraine and is popular amongst other Eastern and Central European soups and is typically made from beets (as the main ingredient). However, tomato can also be the main ingredient and beets being the second one. This limited edition chips has more of the tomato side of Borsch.

 

 

 

 

Half a bat ghost and other ghosts!

As you can see, the chips are all shaped differently! I think it adds a unique touch to not only add a new limited flavor to a chip, but to change the whole look of it in general. The texture of the chip is thicker than your typical potato chip (think Pringles instead of Lays) so this allows the shape to hold better and not be so brittle. Each chip then has the flavor coating sprinkled over it.

 

Flavor wise, I can't say it is like the Borscht soups I had before (which are more Russian style and made with just beets). There is a slight "borscht" flavor to it but a bit more tangy. That is where I think the tomatoes come in. Overall, I really did enjoy it and thought it was just a really cool snack. Plus, in Hong Kong, the chip were equivalent to $1.50 USD which is a really good deal for these chips since in the US, something like this would be easily over $2.

 

Readers, do you like Halloween inspired snacks. What kind do you like most, the sweet stuff or more savory ones? Let me know!

Main St. Gyros in Pioneer Square Seattle: Restaurant Review

Here's another quick food post on a little corner place that sells Mediterranean food called Main St. Gyros. Located in Pioneer Square, this place is surrounded by local businesses, shops, 

Summer Smoothie Recipe: Watermelon* + Blueberry

 

 

 

 

 

I know Summer is almost over, but there's still a good month left! This Summer, I have had an abundance of blueberries in my yard and when you can't eat them all, you have to freeze them! Frozen blueberries are one of the most delicious treats and are perfect to add to fruit smoothies. If you don't have frozen blueberries, you can find them in your grocery store and even in bulk at places like Costco (and they have it organic)!

 



This recipe is perfect for the end of summer. It is cooling with the fresh watermelon, but to balance out that 'coolness,' there is some 'warmth' added to it from some fresh ginger (if you understand TCM or Traditional Chinese Medicine, you may understand the whole usage of 'cool' and 'warm' foods..it is a bit hard to explain, especially in English). Blueberries are also high in antioxidants (and they taste delicious) so this smoothie is just a win-win treat. I also like to add lemon just for an extra Vitamin C boost.

 

Here's what you'll need:

3 cups of fresh cut watermelon

1 to 2 cups of frozen blueberries (really a preference thing)

1 quarter slice of a lemon (if it is organic, include the rind)

1/2 inch to 1 inch size of peeled ginger root

 

 

Don't fill your blender up too full, or else the juices from the watermelon may overflow.

Blend watermelon first and then add the frozen blueberries. After they are almost fully blended, add the lemon and ginger. You don't need anything else!

 

And there you go! A healthy and refreshing summer treat =)

 

Readers, what are you favorite summer fruits? Do you have a favorite smoothie recipe? Let me know, I'd love to try them out.

Fresh Albacore Tuna Poke Recipe

 

 

 

 

 

 

One of my favorite things to eat is poke (pronounced poʊˈkeɪ/). Poke is a Hawaiian dish (kind of like an appetizers) that is a raw salad usually made with sashimi Ahi Tuna aka Yellowfin Tuna. It comes either spicy, or with no spice and can be sweetend too. It is usually made with soy sauce, sesame oil, inamona, chopped chili peppers, ogo seaweed and maybe a few tweaks here and there. I don't think I can pin point exactly how the original recipe is supposed to be like since there are many variations and they all are pretty tasty.

 

For my recipe, I used Albacore tuna, which is more of a white meat tuna. Below are the ingredients and instructions on how I made my poke!

 

Ingredients

1 lb Albacore Tuna

2 small cucumbers (or just 1 English cucumber)

1/2 chopped green onions

1 to 2 tablespoons of ponzu (citrus flavored soy sauce--eye ball or adjust to taste)

1/2 to 1 tablespoon of sesame oil

1 to 2 teaspoons of togarashi (japanese pepper/spice mix -- add to taste)

sea salt

 

Directions

 

1) Chop tuna into small, bite- sized cubes around 1/2 inch or so and chop cucumbers into cubes smaller than chopped tuna. Finely chop geren onions.

2) Place all chopped ingredients into a bowl and add your ponzu and sesame oil. Make sure you toss it well so everything is coated. For spice, proceed to add the togarashi and mix well. You can then add your sea salt at this point, sprinkling a little at a time. You won't need much.

 

And that's it! Super simple and quick and healthy. You can either eat right away or cover the bowl with saran wrap and place it in the fridge to let the flavors soak in more. Either way, this dish will taste good. I personally like eating it by itself, but you can eat it over rice as well or even over a bed of arugula.

 

Readers, have you ever tried poke? If you are a fan of  tuna sashimi/sushi (raw fish) you should definitely give this a try. What are your favorite Hawaiian foods? Let me know!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Natsu Matsuri 2014 Seattle

Another year, another festival! Of course I attended Natsu Matsuri at the Seattle Uwajimaya store again and here are some pictures that captured the day. This was two weekends ago but better late than never!

Seattle was blessed with beautiful weather so it made the event even better. And of course, be ready for all the food pics >.<

 

 

 

 

 

I'm such a sucker for somen!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And this Tonkotsu Ramen was bomb.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cutest little boy ever! His hair too!

 

 

Of course, you need ice cream for a hot day!

 

 

And that's it! Hope ya'lls Summer is going well  (if you're in Summer season that is)