Back from The Capital

...of Malaysia that is. 

I wasn't planning on going on this recent trip, but then I was feeling greedy for some Kenny Hills so I decided to tag along on BIKSS' worktrip. He was gonna leave on a Monday, we got my ticket on the Friday prior. And I couldn't get out of work on Monday so he went ahead first, and I met up with him there later in the day.

There are other things going on in my life right now, one of which is being unhappy at work. I'm annoyed at my boss, my human resource person, and my current colleague. So I've applied to another job. Let's see how that goes. 

But for now, let me just enjoy showing you the photos of all our treats! 

Intermittent Fasting was put on hold (we'd both been at it for about a week - properly - before we left) and decided that we would just enjoy ourselves while we were away, then get back to it - properly - when we came home. The good news is, we both lost some weight before we left, and at least we're not too much over what we started with when we got back. 

We ate dinner on Monday night at a place recommended by my Uber driver. It was near our hotel, so why not?!  Broccoli and mushrooms / Roast chicken / Prawns in kam heong sauce - 

Kam Heong (Golden Fragrance) sauce is a signature Malaysian stir-fry paste known for its rich umami and aromatic profile. It is made by sautéing a base of dried shrimp, curry leaves, shallots, garlic, and chilies with Malaysian curry powder and savory sauces like oyster sauce, soy sauce, and sugar.

Then we walked back to the hotel via a 'connecting' alleyway that was lined with eateries! 

And stopped for some gelato. Good gelato. We had this in London too.. it's turned into something of a signature out-of-town ice cream treat for us.

We also bought some chocolate pieces.

The next morning I was off to Kenny Hills to pre-order my loot. Picked up some of these packaged treats for gifting (ahem... and eating...) while I was there. They promised to have my order ready for pick-up at noon the next day.

And since BIKSS loves an eclair, well...

Some of their offerings... none of these came home with me. Too fragile to travel.

These were the 3 bags I collected the day after, including some additional items that BIKSS wanted - I took him with me cos I figured there were gonna be too many boxes. Also, we tried some of the lemon drizzle loaf and banana bread later that day, and I ended up heading back there again the following day to pick up some more for BIKSS and myself to take home.

Top - marshmallow nutella brownie (so good... so, so good) 
Bottom - banana bread, slices of lemon drizzle loaf, and a scone

(There were 3 more scones in another box, don't you worry...)

I had a wander around the basement of the mall, and there were so many bakeries it was a good thing I had had lunch. There were fruit tarts, flattened croissant things (see explanation below) - and more scones!

They originated in South Korea as a viral dessert called krungji (or kurongji), which is a portmanteau of croissant and nurungji (a traditional Korean crispy scorched rice snack).

...Ok, I caved and bought some of those chocolate covered scones. Altho' I should have trusted my instincts and needn't have bothered. They weren't worth the calories! BIKSS didn't mind them tho, so I chucked them in his suitcase!

(OOTD: Black floral A-line dress with cut in top, beige slides, and blue and white tote.)

By the end of the afternoon I was ready to head back to the room. 

My last stop was a new bakery called Hot Crush: 

Hot Crush, the viral pink bakery, officially opened its first Southeast Asian outlet in Kuala Lumpur on December 20, 2025. The bakery originated as a massive hit in Shanghai, China.

Check out this instagram post for a closer look.. or watch this short - 

I wish I could tell you that I tried some of those other tarts and what not, but I didn't. BIKSS bought a chocolate egg tart on the last day and I picked one up too. But I didn't get a picture of it. I *can* say that it was delicious! I did manage to grab a pic off the internet - 

(Bottom row - middle)

I was more interested in things that would travel well, so I got a Berlin Volufra Cocoa Crispy Pretzel / Honey Pistachio Nut Bar / and an amusing receipt that tells me the Amount Of Money I paid.

Along with the pretzel and nut bars (which are really just sourdough breadsticks with nuts that are cut up on the spot as they pack up your purchase) and wellington croissants (mini beef wellingtons anyone? see pics below) I also picked up some ready-to-eat Bird's Nest and Chrysanthemum + Honeysuckle tea from a wellness/herbal remedy shop.

Signature Black Truffle Wellington Steak Croissant

- it's one of their big hits, and so I just had to try it. 

And it was so good I went back to the store the morning of our departure to pick up 4 more. They open at 12. I was in line at 12.05.. But it wasn't ready yet. Come back in an hour, they said. BIKSS came round to meet me for lunch, then we headed back up again at 1. Thankfully, this time we managed to bag our goodies, which I hand-carried (along with the Nutella brownies) onto the plane.

We had lunch at a nearby restaurant with a forest theme on one of the days and aside from the strange decor I must say the food was very decent. They had set meals which came with free flow salad (a limited selection, but still, enough to make a decent garden salad) and fruit punch. I chose the fish tacos for my main, and BIKSS had the crispy chicken burger. We were quite satisfied. There was also a tiny Tiramisu thrown in to complete the meal.

On the day we collected our stuff from Kenny Hills we had wanted to lunch there but it was full so we headed to Tabush instead which, I'm glad to say, has never disappointed. 

And this time was no exception.

We had a brinjal masala - 

also known as baingan masala, is a rich, spiced South Asian curry made with eggplant (brinjal). The eggplant is either pan-fried or simmered whole in a fragrant, thick gravy made with onions, tomatoes, ginger, garlic, and a blend of traditional ground spices.

... and another brinjal thing with minced lamb. It's called Monazala Batinjan B'Forn - 

a classic Middle Eastern eggplant and tomato casserole or stew. It typically features layers of roasted or fried eggplant, savory minced meat (lamb or beef), and a rich tomato sauce, all baked together in the oven until bubbling.

On our last night out BIKSS wanted to take me to a nice sit down dinner so we chose a steakhouse. Off we went to Corks Out, which was an easy 5-min walk from our hotel.

(OOTD: Black spaghetti maxi cotton dress with tulle overlay, a scarf that belonged to my friend's late mum, the one whose wake I spent a whole week at last month, and grey snakeskin clutch.) 

They brought the raw meats to the table in a basket and we selected the cuts we wanted, then they grilled them up. When the food arrived back at the table each cut of meat came with its own info cards.

I wasn't thrilled with the lamb ribs but the beef was VERY good.

We also had grilled napa cabbage with anchovy sauce (caesar dressing I suppose) and cheese, a pomegranate and beetroot salad, and the server brought over a trio of salts - from left to right, herbal salt made seasoned with angelica root, mushroom salt, and a smoked salt. I generally don't like salty food so after he placed the three little piles on our plates I promptly tried them each once then chucked the whole lot out. They weren't bad, I just don't like salting my food beyond whatever sauce is already on the serving plate. 

Thankfully, aside from the brown mushroom (?) sauce on the side plate, the other dips were not salty. That reddish one is a chilli-vinegar dip, and the green one is a chimichurri which I quite liked. (And in case you're wondering, yes, I generally have low blood pressure, somewhere in the 95/60 range, and it's been this way since I was young. I think it's because mum didn't use a lot of salt in her food, owing to dad's hypertension. So I just got used to eating less-salty food.)

Right, one of the last things I picked up were these Shanghainese "scones" or meat pastries. 

That carrier bag is adorable! The buns aren't too bad either LOL. 

Ji Pin He (吉品合) is a popular bakery chain originally founded in Shanghai, China, in 2008. Known for its freshly baked, flaky, and meat-filled Chinese scones (sometimes referred to as baked buns), the brand has grown to operate over 400 outlets.

They had some fun flavours. Aside from the ones here, they also had New Orleans Chicken, Chicken and Shrimp, and Black Pepper Beef - which are the flavours BIKSS chose, so I picked up one of each for him and myself. And boy did they smell awesome!

It was supposed to be a quick lunch at Kyochon Chicken before we left for the airport. We had the cheese truffle boneless bites, and the soy garlic + red hot (it wasn't hot!) boneless bites combo. In the end I was a bit disappointed. It was far from great, just edible I'd say, and it took way longer than we expected. Almost half an hour for those bits of chicken to arrive. You can be sure I'm never going back.

Founded in 1991 in South Korea, Kyochon is one of the world's most iconic Korean fried chicken chains. Famous for its signature double-frying technique and hand-brushed sauces, the brand uses antibiotic-free chicken and premium canola oil to create a crispy, less greasy finish.

And that's my foot on the plane. With my bag of beef wellingtons and brownies, and a handbag under the seat in front of me! I love having checked baggage... no overhead bins to struggle with!

And that's it! I'm curious to hear if you've tried any of the foods that I've shared here... some of these were new to me, and I think my favourite meals were at Tabush (I do love Middle Eastern cuisine) and the steakhouse (but only because it was a novel experience and the beef was really tender).

Balsamic Tasting, Bakehouse Scones

You all know I live for experiences. I'd rather pay to attend a thing than to buy a thing. Well, depending on what the two things are. 

Anyway. I went to a place to eat dinner and part of the dinner menu this month was a Balsamic Tasting platter. I mean, I've NEVER had a balsamic tasting. Have you? 

It comes with a little card telling you what to do... 

Yes, bread, salad, cheese and gelato. It was very exciting.

They're known for gourmet ingredients at everyday prices, and for their sourdough pizzas.

This one was a huge 4 cheese with honey, and cost about half the price of what I would have to pay at other artisanal pizza places. Even BIKSS was impressed at how affordable the menu looked.

They also have an online store that I've purchased from a number of times in the past, but their scones / English afternoon tea sets are always sold out. So I decided to have a scone while we were there. I was so excited to get my hands on it that I ate it all up before thinking to take a photo. (This set came with a pot of tea, so I selected a peach and mango infusion.)

After dinner we wandered around their grocery section, and I picked up some Cartwright and Butler biscuits, Taylors of Harrogate tea, and this lovely thing (I've had it before) for my crackers. 

And speaking of being spoilt, BIKSS showed up with a ziploc bag of scones from Hong Kong's Bakehouse when he popped by for dinner last week. 

Me : What's this?

B : Scones

Me : Yes, I can see that, but why do you have scones for me in a Ziploc bag? Where from? 

B : Remember I mentioned I had people in Hongkong? 

Me - immediately pops a savoury cheese and herb scone in the microwave, and ignores the mushroom tart from Kenny Hills (that I got my boss to cart back for me from his conference in Kuala Lumpur over the weekend). 

Me : Well then, guess what just got added to tonight's dinner menu! 

*Wheeeeeee* 

NEVER!

Are you team Devon or team Cornwall? BIKSS and I both prefer it the Devon way!

Christmas, The Good The Bad and The Ugly

The Good - dinners and lunches and exhibitions with BIKSS over the last couple of weeks - 

Lunch at a newly discovered French-style restaurant.

Cheese plate, smoked duck salad, mushroom and chestnut soup,

turkey breast, grilled (I forget what type of) fish.

Pre-Christmas dinner at a French restaurant before that, a place we have been wanting to try for a while now. So since it was OUR Christmas dinner we decided to go. It was a little underwhelming. A popular spot, it seemed like they were more concerned with just turning tables over as quickly as they could. Probably never again. 

Fish Quenelles, roasted squash w/risotto, b-sprouts and foie gras.

We also had some time to peruse the Banksy exhibition that was in town. Fascinating stuff. We both had a good time looking at the art. 

I really like the rat themed pieces.

The Bad - after church this morning after we had crossed the road, we saw an elderly couple fall while they were crossing. My caregiver went over to help, then turned back to look at me and made the symbol for "telephone". Uh - oh. 

Some other church goers stopped to assist too. But in the end we ascertained that the wife needed medical attention. Thankfully she wasn't the stubborn sort. I think I should go to the emergency room, she suggested, when I asked if she wanted to be taken to the clinic near our homes. As luck would have it, they live near me. A mere 5 minute walk from my flat. 

I called a ride-share and took them both to the hospital's emergency room. Along the way we managed to contact the wife's sister who said she would come straight away. The husband needed some convincing. He was insistent that if I didn't want to be reimbursed for transport, then he would owe me a favour. Right, you can do me the favour of giving me peace of mind by registering yourself at the emergency dept too, I said. Let them look you over cos even tho you don't seem to be bleeding anywhere, you took a fall too. Flat on the wife. Who thankfully just had flesh wounds. He agreed reluctantly. 

After a bit the sister arrived and we took off, but not before speaking to their daughter (who lives an hour away) and son in law. 

I took their numbers and they promised to update me. The daughter just texted to let me know that mum needed stitches on her forehead, she finally got to the hospital and is now with them. 

All good I suppose. I reassured them that they could call me anytime if they needed any help since the sister is 30 mins away and the daughter is far far far away (by our standards). I'm 5 minutes on foot. So yeah. It'll be a lot quicker for me or CG1 to get to them if they need anything. 

The Ugly - I had Christmas eve dinner at my place for my close friends. The people nearest and dearest to me. Betty's birthday is the 24th so I throw her a Christmas cum birthday party here every year. It's not happened in the last 2 years tho since mum wasn't in the best shape to tolerate a huge to-do here. But I resumed my annual tradition this year and Betty's girlfriend was in attendance. And I don't like her. 

Two friends from the freecycle / food rescue group I had gotten closer to were also in attendance. And while one of them is a lovely person, the other, I realised, tends to be the sort that just SAYS what she thinks she ought to to be thought of as a good person. She'll say this and that and then not follow thru. 

And BOTH of them share the same malady of being snobs. They're both very well to do, and I do NOT appreciate the way they speak to or think of or dismiss my caregiver, whom I treat as a sister, a companion and a true friend. They on the other hand think of her as merely THE HELP. But even then, you do NOT get to speak down to her, seeing as she's MY hired help, not YOURS. 

Too many details to get into, but suffice to say I'm done with these two. I'll be cordial, sure. But don't expect me to include them in my inner circle anytime soon (or ever!). 

------------

For now, Blessed Christmas everybody.

All the Food and Gifts from Portugal

Forgive me readers.. it has been 10 days since my last entry. 

Mostly I've been lazy. But also my brain is tired all the time from dealing with the incompetence of caregiver #2. We have been scrambling to find a replacement asap. I managed to get in touch with a friend's ex-caregiver who took care of her mum during the last 3 years of her life as she succumbed to dementia too. We're getting the paperwork started as soon as she clears her medical in her home country. 

Which, hopefully, will be TOMORROW! Fingers crossed that she's fit for overseas deployment. 

Meanwhile, the new washing machine is great. For some reason I can actually smell the soap on my clothes with this washer. I don't know if that's a good thing or not. But it smells good. At the end of the cycle everything is also drier than in the old machine. So it's cut my dryer time by 30 mins! 

I realise that since I've been so busy trying to get the Thailand fotos up on the blog, I've not posted any of the OTHER food pics from our date nights. So you're gonna get them all at one go. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

NUMBER 1 - We (well, I) apparently couldn't get enough of Thai cuisine following the recent holiday so we went and had MORE Thai food when we came back. 

Dinner at a place we've eaten at before, but this time we decided to try stuff we've never tried. 

Crab Tanghoon in claypot - crab good. tanghoon good. chinese parseley, not so much.

Sour spicy coconut milk and seafood soup. Interesting. Rich. Thick. I would eat this again.

Stir fried kangkong. Deceptively spicy. Didn't look it. Sure was tho.

NUMBER 2 - One hot clammy evening, BIKSS' car decided it didn't want to start. So it (and we) were stuck in the basement carpark of a nearby mall. Well, the car was. So that's where we went. He was on the fone with a million people trying to see to a tow truck etc... so I decided to hop into a Vietnamese place we were familiar with. 

It's kinda weird. Every time we eat there we agree it's really delicious. But we never actually REMEMBER to go back there when we have a craving. It's only ever by chance that we dine there again and we say to each other each time that it's a good place to go for Vietnamese food. It's as if our memories get wiped when we leave the restaurant LOL. These are their fried spring rolls. Veggie ones I think. I can't quite remember ... hur hur hur. 

Bun Thit Hue Nuong - Rice vermicelli, grilled pork, fried spring rolls with a very delicious sweet and sour sauce that we got an extra serving of and poured over the whole thing! It's basically Bun Cha without the meatballs.

Grilled something. Maybe more pork. 

Banh Flan - Vietnamese coffee and caramel flan

NUMBER 3 - This Russian restaurant run by Hainanese cooks (don't ask me... I have no clue how THAT came about) has been around for decades. It's pricey, but kind of  an "old school" restaurant. Dark, quiet, with a little murmuring of conversation that never quite goes above an acceptable "polite" volume. I loved it. The food, well.. it was interesting... I'll give them that. It was the first time there for both of us. I'm glad we got to try it together.

Borshch -

A hearty classic Russian broth with Angus beef brisket, slow cooked to perfection

Blinis Caviar -

Homemade Russian pancakes served with caviar and créme fraiche

SHASHLIK of BEEF - 

The menu states "Our Shashliks are traditionally served without sauce as the meats are specially marinated, please request for sauce if you need any."

So we ate ours with the pickles and veggies that came with it. I don't usually eat heavily seasoned food anyway, so this was exactly like eating at home! I've been known to eat unseasoned and unsauced food. 

Baked Alaska -

Wellington of ice cream, sponge cake and meringue, flambéed with dark rum

Here's a video - 

NUMBER 4 - Afternoon tea at a mid-range hotel coffeehouse with an Asian twist! Turned out their savouries were good. Their sweets, not so much. This was part of the afternoon we spent together before he left for his work trip to Portugal. And also the day I bought my new washing machine.

Laksa in a jar

Fried "carrot" cake aka radish cake aka chai tow kway. The reason some people call it carrot cake is because daikon or radish (which is the main ingredient in this savoury dish) is known in Chinese as 'white carrot'. Hence, fried carrot cake.

Not great mini burgers and not great 'pie tee' either.

An assortment of cakes and things. Top shelf, meh. Bottom shelf - quite delicious.

Satay in a jar

NUMBER 5 - After shopping for the washing machine we went to a pizza place by the marina. We'd never eaten there before so decided to try it. I ate half a pizza. And the meatballs. And the veggies. And I finished everything in no time at all! I must have been really hungry or really stressed. I have been known to get very very hungry and eat-y when I've been working my brain. And I had definitely been working my brain with the caregiver issues and the washing machine issues recently.

A half and half pizza, grilled veggies, and (below) meatballs in gravy.

NUMBER 6 - The post-worktrip dinner. We went to a mall that houses a few Thai restaurants and a Thai supermarket, cos I wanted to have a look at the offerings. We didn't make it to the supermarket... so I think we'll go tomorrow instead. 

Stir fried veggies - GOOD

Grilled pork skewers - also GOOD

Seafood curry fry up. I enjoyed this one tremendously. 

BIKSS looked at the all-orange mass on the plate and announced "that's not going to photo well". 

I agreed. This was the best I could do. 

.... and now.... PRESENT TIME!

BIKSS was in Portugal for a work thing. And since I couldn't come with, I did the next best thing. I googled "Best souvenirs from Lisbon" and gave him a shopping list - The Rooster of Barcelos was one of the items on that list.

From the www :

In Portugal, the rooster is a symbol of faith, good luck and justice based on the legend of the "Old Cock of Barcelos". The legend tells a story about a pilgrim traveling through Spain who is accused of stealing silver from a landowner, and is sentenced to death by hanging.

To plead his innocence, he begs the judge to reverse his sentence. The judge was about to tuck into a roasted cockerel, when the pilgrim vowed that as proof of his innocence the cockerel will stand up on his plate and crow.

The judge pushed aside his meal and laughed. As the pilgrim was about to be hung, the cockerel miraculously stood up and crowed. Leaving the judge in disbelief, he then hurried to the gallows to free the innocent man.

Many years later, the pilgrim returned to Barcelos to carve a statue of the cockerel, where the legend and symbolism lives on til this day.

Also, a dozen Portuguese egg tarts. These were HIS suggestion, not an item on my list. They're a LOT sweeter than the ones that are sold in where-I-live, and a fair bit "stickier" too. Still, it's good eating. He asked if I wanted 6 or 12. Of course I said 12. 

I collect magnets. So I had it on my list. Along with a picture of a clay magnet with the Lisbon tram on it so he would know exactly what to look for. He couldn't find any clay ones, but he did get these. I have taken possession of the one on the right. I am still waiting for the one on the left. 

And on top of all that, a surprise - we got in the car and he gave me a present, wrapped in red paper with a bow and everything. (The shop wrapped it for him, he said.) 

It was an Azulejo bracelet - absolutely beautiful, but impossible for me to put on or take off on my own. This requires a second person to work the adjustable bands hahahah. 

And wait, the CHEESES! 

Cured (aged) sheep milk cheese on the left, made in Portugal, and a Very Delicious Camembert - subtle and pungent at the same time. I don't know how else to describe it. I wondered why he would get FRENCH cheese from Portugal, instead of just more Portuegese cheese - turns out it's a lot cheaper there. Less than 2 Euro, he tells me. It'll be about 10 to 12 Euro here for that same size wheel. Cheese is generally expensive in Asia which is why I don't buy a lot of good (or ANY) cheese. But I DO love me my cheeses. And I think I tolerate the 'smelly' cheeses better than most of the people I know. Got that from my Mamma. 

Quick aside - I recently picked up some natural goat cheese at the store cos it was on clearance. (How else am I going to afford it!?!) When I got home I offered some to the caregivers to try - cos they'd never tried it before. BOTH of them immediately made a face and went looking for a beverage to kill the taste. Then popped some candy to try and recover from the "stink" of the cheese. I then turned to mum and popped a little bit from my finger into her mouth. Her eyes widened, she looked at me, and when I offered her more she readily accepted. She had three fingertip-fuls in all. The caregivers looked on in disbelief. 

I am my mother's daughter, I announced.  

I haven't got into the sheep milk cheese yet but I hear it's less pungent than goat cheese. (Also isn't it strange that one is sheep MILK cheese and the other is just GOAT cheese?) I do still have a bunch of other cheese to get through first before I open that one up. 

Right. And now I have to go to bed. It's been a long day and this has been a long post. 

Here's the bag of sotong flavour crackers I've been snacking on while putting this post up.