Cooking All Day Breakfast

The Menu Today to feed 4:

Sausages   $10
Canned Corn   $1.50
Canned Baked Beans   $1.50
Fresh Eggs  $0.80
Cherry Tomatoes   $1.50
Guinness Stout 320ml can   $3.50

Total Cost = $18.80

Put everything into a pot and add in Butter/Margarine, Salt & Pepper. Cook on low heat for 1.5 hours.

Grill all the same ingredients to get the traditional breakfast. This method of cooking is similar to making chili con carne, some people who ate this thought it was chili con carne.

Serve with garlic bread or rice.

Ah Chew Desserts

Traditional Chinese desserts in a shop with old world charm.

Prices range from $3 to $6 per bowl of dessert but portion sizes are easily 2x even 3x.

You get different grass jelly desserts, steamed milk desserts, iced fruit desserts and an entire menu section on durian based desserts.

 Branben enjoying his 甜湯 .

Cooking Beer Chicken

This is a Chinese adaptation of the classic American BBQ dish Beer Can Chicken.

Create the marinade with:

(1) Light Soya Sauce

(2) Dark Soya Sauce

(3) Oyster Sauce

(4) Sesame Oil

(5) Garlic

(6) Chinese 5 spice powder
(7) Salt & Pepper

Rub the marinate into the chicken then place in wok. Pour 1 bottle of beer (preferably a dark lager/ale) into the wok and cover with lid. Leave to cook for 15mins on 1 side, flip the chicken over to the other side for another 15mins and its ready to serve.

I really like this dish as its easy to prepare a delicious meal and the chicken is fall-off-the-bone tender. I have also tried this with Insamju (Korean medicinal wine) for when my family members are not feeling well, really invigorating.

Nanta BBQ Restaurant

Sunday Dinner @ Nanta Korean BBQ restaurant. It's updated Korean BBQ with delicious gooey cheese and more meat/mushrooms in the servings. This was a good meal for us.

Budae Jjigae (Army Stew) with unlimited ramyeon and soup.

The kids ordered some non-spicy set meals and this steamed egg dish that was fluffy and charcoal smoky, soo good I couldn't believe it.

Their signature cheese and ribs hot plate that every table in the restaurant was having.

Extra serving of tok-bokki, these spicy Korean rice cakes are addictive and can be found everywhere in Korea (from the street hawkers to convenience stores).

 We tried out hite a Korean light beer brand.

Cooking Noodles

This is a classic recipe from my childhood. Dried noodles are really cheap, $1.50 for 4 or 5 servings in a packet. Seasoning is made from existing items in every Asian Pantry. Everyone usually eats this at home without other vegetables or meat, simple and yummy.

Seasoning made from:

(1) Light Soya Sauce

(2) Dark Soya Sauce

(3) Oyster Sauce

(4) Sesame Oil

(5) Tomato Sauce

(6) Chili Sauce
(7) Vinegar & Pepper (use sparingly)

Cook noodles in boiling water for 5mins. Remove and toss into seasoning.

Jollibee Fried Chicken

When Philippine fast food chain Jollibee first opened in Singapore, the Qs were unbelievably long. Only now do I finally get to eat its famous fried chicken, having 1 original and 1 spicy. They do serve it with rice but I got mashed potatoes instead, plenty of butter in the mashed potatoes.

They serve their chicken with classic gravy that is really quite good. Heard good things about their sweet spaghetti too, maybe next time.

Cold Storage Grocery Shopping

$100 grocery run from Cold Storage

AirWick 4-in-1 Sparkling Citrus Aerosol   $3.85
AirWick LifeScents Freshmatic Summer Delight   $12.25

Philadelphia Garlic & Herb Cheese Spread (150gm x 2)   $10
Oreo Sandwich Cookies (137gm x 2)   $ 3.70
Wall's Ice Cream (x3)   $21.70
Newman Ranch Dressing   $10.90
Annie's Organic Goddess Dressing   $8.95
Kraft Blue Cheese Dressing   $6.90
Maille Dijonnaise Mustard (x2)   $10.50
Two Oceans Shiraz Red Wine   $22.95
Evian Water 500ml    $1.80
Broccoli Soup   $3.95
Eclipse Mints   $3.95
Wright Malty Bread Mix   $6.20

Total is $127.60 that comes under $100 after discounts.

LifeScents is AirWicks latest product, each LifeScent has 3 evolving scents so you don't get sick of that 1 scent and makes the room more alive and real. Summer Delight has Melon/White Flowers/Vanilla. The 4-in1 spray is odour neutralizing with additional citrus scent, something everyone needs.

We've tried Two Oceans whites so now I got the red. The Evian water is for my workout, coz I was on my way to the gym, *new bottle packaging*.

I wasn't planning on getting ice cream, however the new Wall's flavours and packaging were being stocked so I thought I would get some Lime/Strawberry Cheesecake/Fruit Salad. Oreo cookies are to make mud pies or if I am lazy I just add them straight from the packet into my ice cream.

My family likes Garlic and Herb spreads for sandwiches (lunch) or crackers (tea time). Philadelphia has these but its not always available, so since I happen to see it on the shelves I got 2 tubs, the tubs are tiny just 137gm. Its flavour is more subtle but really rich & creamy, most people don't like strong garlic flavours so this would be perfect for them.

I like to get good mustard, as a condiment it lasts quite some time so its still affordable. Maille Dijonnaise happened to be on sale 2-for-the-price-of-1. Trying out Annie's Organic Goddess Dressing that is quite different, it tastes like hummus with a sour element. Once you toss this into a salad it makes sense. Kraft Blue Cheese Dressing, I was thinking of Morton's blue cheese iceberg salad when I bought this. And Newman's Ranch Dressing. Salad Dressings are always on sale @ Cold Storage for some reason, I got all these for less than half price.

I decided to try pour-out-of-the-carton organic Broccoli Soup, its not really a dish in itself, I think its meant for cooking. If you're vegetarian you will use this in place of chicken stock.

I've tried Wright's bread mix before and its delish! Meant for the electric breadmaker, you get pretty tough bread from this so don't knead too much. There is a large variety of flavours to choose from.

Eclipse extra strong mints that are really much stronger than other mints.

Wild Honey

all day breakfast @ Mandarin Gallery

I ordered their Tunisian brekkie, that is almost the same as Ottoman (Ottoman is vegetarian).

The basic Ice Cold Coffee is really good, surprised ;) because they have a huge coffee & tea menu.

Causewaylink Bus Service (Tuas Second Link)

Causeway Link Buses are operated by JB bus operators Handal Indah and have several bus services that ply the Tuas Second Link. The bus fare is a flat $4 (although the website now states $5). This route is also much quieter and faster as not many people use it.

CW6  goes to Taman Bukit Indah (AEON), board at Boon Lay MRT bus stop

CW3 goes to Taman Bukit Indah Aeon Mall then onto Perling Mall, board at Jurong East Interchange

CW4 goes to Sutera Mall, board at Jurong East Interchange

The bus stops outside Bukit Indah Shopping Mall, the largest shopping center in the state of Johor, ending its service at Larkin Terminal. Aeon (formerly Jusco) has a membership plan for further savings, as if the favorable exchange rate and cheaper prices aren't enough.

We ate at the Thai restaurant there and its really authentic, down to the fresh mango salad and sweet beef kway teow soup. It came up to $6 or $7 per person for our party of 5, I can't believe the prices here.

For dessert, I headed over to the coconut ice cream stall at the entrance, $6 ringgit for luscious scoops of coconut ice cream with coconut jelly, coconut shavings and a whole bunch of other toppings, in a fresh coconut shell.

The first floor is filled with recognizable shop names, a row of fast food restaurants, the AEON supermarket and the branded outlet shop. Discounts and special offers here will make your eyes pop, 50% off GNC, buy1get1 & PWP at Watsons, special buys on gold @ jewellery shops.

There are some TCM shops, local Malaysian products gift store and pushcarts selling everything in trend for the season. We dropped by this snack cart to stock up on muruku before heading home (I took this pic but the same cart comes up when you click on the mall in Google maps).

The second floor is filled with clothing and shoes, my mom picked up this pair of shoes at just $53 ringgit (its got soo many crystals). There is also a row of restaurants. The third floor is where the Cinema is located. There's also Toys'r'us (didn't go in this time), Daiso, Popular on this uppermost level.

I did a price comparison of groceries in Malaysia and Singapore and although in general Malaysia groceries are 20% to 30% cheaper, you can get 10% discount in Singapore using your passion card and not travel all the way across the border to do your shopping. The non-seasonal items that are really worth your money in Malaysia are:

(1) Red meat like Buffalo or Mutton 

It costs $6.66/kg after conversion from Malaysia and costs $20/kg in Singapore. When it goes on sale and that happens quite often, it gets even cheaper.

(2) Amarula Liquor

$39 after conversion from Malaysia and it comes with 2 free glasses. In Singapore it costs $65 to $85, no glasses.

(3) Vegetables
You can get 1 kilo for under $1 and it gets even cheaper if its on offer.

(4) XL size tubs of tomato sauce, margarine etc
Malaysia grocery stores sell commercial size (1kg to 5kg) condiments. Once the novelty wears off, its still good value for money. Imagine ... $3 for 1 kilo of margarine.



Legally, cigarettes and other contraband are not allowed across the border. Liquor is ok and there are no restrictions on the volume you can bring over (yay!). Unlike airports where you are restricted to 1 litre. You also need to know for day trips (like mine) GST tax exemption is only up to $150 value of goods, thereafter you have to pay 7% tax on the remaining value of goods at Singapore customs. If you are staying across the border for > 48 hours (say 3D/2N in Legoland) you are allowed up to $600 worth of goods tax exempt, so do shop @megamarts to stock up on groceries.

These peppers of all colours caught our attention and I got a pack of the small sweet ones.

There's a food court just outside the supermarket, great place to grab a drink and repack all your purchases before heading home.

That's everyone waiting for the bus home on the opposite side of the road @ coffeeshop.

Totally loved my purchases that included tulang spice bag, I'm gonna grill the lamb chops in awesome bbq sauce, chop up 1 mutton steak to make tulang soup and just smoke the rest for sandwiches. This time around I got Auntie Anne's Pretzels (3 for $10 ringgit)! If you are at a loss for what to get, Secret Recipe cakes are a good bet and half price after conversion too.