Something Sweet - Leng Lui Tong Sui

If you are hankering for some refreshing and healthy dessert like tong sui, head over to Leng Lui Tong Sui in Jelutong Market.

The name was actually coined by the patrons because the proprietress was quite a beauty in her hey day and later on, they noted that her daughters inherited her looks as well. Now, the daughters of the proprietress are running the business and they have expanded to another branch in the Terengganu Road area.

Their main branch remains at Jelutong, though, in a corner coffee shop directly opposite the Jelutong wet market.

Leng Lui Tong Sui in Jelutong Market

People can see their very familiar pink signboard from far away.

Leng Lui Tong Sui Truck

However, their operations are from this pink and yellow truck parked in front of the coffee shop building. There are other stalls operating inside the coffee shop such as sharks fin soup, Taiwanese sausages and laksa.

Their signature dish is the Mat Dou Yao. Translated from Cantonese, it literally means "a little bit of everything". The name for the dish was coined by a famous movie star from Hong Kong when he visited the place.

Milky Mat Dou Yao (RM5.30)

The above is a later evolution of the dessert that uses milk instead of the usual syrup that is the base for all tong suis.

Mat Dou Yao definitely lives up to its name as there is a little bit of everything inside. Ingredients include jelly, sago, kwan ling gou (herbal jelly), white fungus, ginko nuts, red bean, laichee and longan, to name a few. Customers can add other ingredients like lentils and pineapples by paying a little bit more.

I always ask for more ginko nuts. My favorite ingredient is their sago which I think has been soaked in syrup because they are sweet.

They have other tong suis as well, such as foo chuk and leng chi kang, but customers basically just mix and match whatever they want.

Leng Lui Tong Sui is only open for business in the evenings.

Sick Days Comfort Foods

The weather has been crazy lately, resulting in many cases of the flu and coughs going around. Yours truly is not spared either.

As such, let's look at some of the comfort foods that will automatically lift the spirits a little during those days when we are feeling under the weather. Hey, just because our noses are dripping like a leaky sink and our taste buds can't tell the difference between cardboard and candy, it doesn't mean we should curl up into a ball and feel sorry for ourselves.


Chicken Soup

Ah, the ultimate comfort food reminiscent of childhood and packed with healthy ingredients and all of mommy's love.

Every family has their own secret recipe for chicken soup. The fact is, chicken is so versatile to work with, it's the ultimate "blank canvas". Anything goes. You just need to boil some chicken carcasses and flavor the broth with any aromatic ingredient you want. Once all the flavors from the chicken bones have infused with the liquid it is boiled in, add the garnish of your choice.

You can add pasta, noodles, cream, potatoes, carrots, corn, peas, mushrooms, herbs, practically anything under the sun. But if you are feeling under the weather, add ginger. The heat from the ginger will act as an instant pick me up and stimulate your appetite. The warm sensation afterwards will slowly spread throughout your body and is very soothing.

Of course if you can't get homemade chicken soup, you can always have a can of Campbells cream of chicken soup as a substitute.


Hot Chocolate

Now who doesn't love hot chocolate, especially topped with marshmallows?

The trick is to add a pinch of cayenne pepper into the hot chocolate. There's something about that spicy undertone that instantly jolts the senses.

Besides, when you're sick, you don't really have much of an appetite. The rich chocolate will work well to keep your stomach filled and give you some energy while you rest.

Chocolate also stimulates the brain to produce serotonin, the feel good happy hormone that will make you feel relaxed and aid the recovery process.

So go ahead and down that cup of hot chocolate then get under the covers for a few hours of blissful sleep.

Tomato Soup

Tomatoes are full of vitamin C so it's natural that they are the perfect weapon to combat the common cold. The tangy sour taste will also help to stimulate your appetite

Tomatoes also contain lycopene which acts as an antioxidant and helps boost the immune system.

To prepare, cook tomatoes (preferably fresh but you can use canned tomatoes as well) in any broth of your choice with a mirepoix of carrots, celery and onions. Season with salt and pepper. Once vegetables are soft, puree till smooth and stir in cream. Serve hot.

Honey Lemon Tea

Honey and lemon have been known for centuries to help fight the common cold.

In ancient Egypt, honey was used to cure all kinds of maladies, event to vicious infections. Lemon, high in vitamin C and antioxidants will help boost the immune system.

Have a big tumbler of this next to your bed and take frequent sips to keep yourself hydrated. You can also add ginger juice, especially for warm honey lemon tea as this will help sooth raw and aching throats.

Fruity Smoothies

Smoothies are tasty and very easy to prepare.Blend any types of fruits that are high in vitamin C and antioxidants to create a rich and nutritious smoothie. Add yogurt to replenish the good bacteria in the gut.

The best fruits for smoothies include banana, apples, oranges, raspberries, passion fruit,  pineapple, strawberries and blueberry. Top up your smoothies with nuts like walnuts and almonds for added crunch.

So hopefully these comfort foods will help brighten the days when you feel so terrible that you just want to hide under your covers. Just bear in mind that it will pass, as long as you take care of yourself, get plenty of rest and keep yourself hydrated.

I will be back soon to discover and share with you more delicious food from my beloved paradise island of Penang.

A BAKER’S DOZEN, 12 or 13?

Just last week, I was super engrossed in a book that took the world by a storm with its horrific storyline, and as I read, I came across a line that surprised me. When a character namely Wendy frightfully climbed the stairs and slowly counting a dozen steps, she mentioned "a baker’s dozen".

A dozen = 12, so I automatically assumed that she took 12 steps. Apparently, a baker’s dozen is not 12, but actually 13!

So today, I discovered the reason why a baker’s dozen is actually 13 instead of 12. Yes I did! This even dated back as ancient Egypt where they have imposed stricter laws regarding baker’s wares. For instance, if a baker is found to be cheating someone, they would have their ear nailed to the door of their bakery. In Babylon, if a baker is found to sell a “light loaf” of bread to someone, the baker would have his hand chopped off! How outrageous!

But surely, bakers realized that it’s not that hard to accidentally cheat someone, the baker decide to give more rather than give less. Specifically in this term of “baker’s dozen”, in England, after the Assize of Bread and Ale Statute was enacted in the 13^th century, it became a common practice that if a vendor or other customer to order a dozen or several dozen loaves of bread from a baker, the baker would give them 13 for every dozen they ordered. This effectively made sure that the baker would never accidently break the law and be subject to severe punishment!

So, today we know that baker’s dozen don’t mean the traditional 12, instead it meant 13. Also, they don’t do it simply of for fun but they do it for a very crucial reason! Hope that was informative and I shall see you guys tomorrow! 

THE BATTLE OF BEER OR COFFEE, WHAT'S YOUR TAKE?

What’s with that long face guys? It’s Friday, like finally! It’s time to unleash all your productivity into your work because for the next two days you are going to have some crazy time spending your weekends, right? Most of us turn to the bittersweet caffeine goodness to keep us energized. The amount of coffee that I consume when I am working is simply ridiculous! But, there’s no choice because I need the energy to keep my eyes from drooping shut, I’m sure there are quite a number of you would agree.

However from a study being conducted recently, apparently beer has the ability that makes people more creative!  Such great news for all beer lovers! But, let us look more closely on what they actually meant that beer brings the creativity out of people and how does coffee actually kept us energized before you guys storm down to the local supermarket to stock up your beer. Here we go!

BEER

    A part of brain called cerebral cortex controls thoughts, conscious, language and interaction. When alcohol hits, you feel less focus but frees up your distraction. When your blood alcohol reach 0.07 (2 glass of beer)

           You become more CREATIVE! Advantage of beer is, it makes you less worried of your surroundings, which frees up your brains from distraction, and allow you to have deeper connection with your brain, and hence you become more creative! And the disadvantage is a couple of beers affects your focus and decreases your memory. So the best time to enjoy your beer if you are searching for an initial creative idea.

COFFEE

    When Adenosine binds with its receptor, you feel DROWSY. When Caffeine kicks in, it binds with Caffeine instead and in 5 minutes later… You have more ENERGY! The advantage is when caffeine kicks in only after 5 minutes and gives you more energy and stronger ability to focus! But the disadvantage is when drinking even small amounts of coffee will result in a tolerance and your body will be need more to get the same stimulation. So, take coffee when you are actually getting down in action, and if you just need to focus on your busy work.

So the conclusion is, when you are squeezing your brain out to look for ideas, beer is the best choice, while when you are executing the plans, coffee seems to be the best solution! However remember to take moderately because, too much of both will do no good. That’s all for today, till we meet again next week, Adios amigos! 

TRUTHFUL THURSDAY- DINNER or BREAKFAST?

Hello, it’s Thursday and you know it’s great because it’s 1 day away from FRIDAY! So, let’s keep the high spirit on and read what I have discovered recently. Hope this read takes the edge off your work, or school! In fact, this is a very short fact, but would really spice up your dull day (if you are having one!)

Did you know that the word “Dinner” used to mean “Breakfast”? Well it’s true. Right now, saying it out aloud seems ridiculous, because we are very accustomed to the word “Dinner” when we have meals in the night but somehow it used to mean “Breakfast”. But why did this happen? Why bother changing the terms for good and leaving you and I feeling so puzzled? Let’s find out!

“Dinner” comes from the French word Disnar which means “Breakfast”. Traditionally, dinner (breakfast) was the first meal of the day, eaten around noon. It also happened to be the biggest meal of the day, with a lighter meal coming later known as supper. Eventually, more meals started being added to the day with people eating meals before the large noon meal of dinner.

Rather than calling these earlier meals that broke the fast by the word that means breakfast (dinner), the name “dinner” now stuck as the largest meal of the day. As time has passed, in most cultures that use these words to describe their meals, the largest meal of the day got moved later and later in the day until it’d meal time was around the time we used to have supper. (This used to be a light meal) How surprising!

Hope you guys enjoyed this little piece of fact of the day, every little things counts you know. Now you can proudly brag to your friends and family about how DINNER used to mean BREAKFAST, and the transformation process. Happy bragging! 

SUPER SHOCKING FACTS OF THE DAY!

Hello people! I’m back again with a peachy mood and to make you go “Ewww” with the facts that I’m going to share today! Really, even as I read all those facts, I could not continue without grimacing all the way. So today, let’s learn some terrible, horrible knowledge together! Shall we?

*READ AT YOUR OWN RISK*

I’m sure all of us are fully aware that soda/ carbonated drinks aren’t really great for our health but did you know that the acid from soda has the “power” to dissolve a NAIL? In just 4 days! Oh my goodness! *Seriously?*

I love love love yoghurt, but did you know that some yoghurt actually contains BEEF or PORK gelatin! Oh gross! Will you ever look at yoghurt the same way again? I know I won’t!

Just few days ago, I posted about cheese and praised high and low about how great they taste, well yeah. Apparently there are thousand living parasites living on cheese! Imagine munching down all the living parasites down your throat?

Oh,oh here’s another one! Remember all the colorful, shiny jelly beans that we absolutely love? The ones that we actually choose based on their colors and the shiny textures, sometimes we even get into fights with our brothers and sisters over the colors? Know how they keep their shine? You sure? Okay, I’ll say it; they keep the shine on with shellac! *Ewww*

Okay, brace your heart for the next one, because this is about to get real nasty! Apparently, FDA allows certain amount of animal feces in packaged foods. *OH CR*P! No pun intended!*

Another super duper disgusting fact of the day is, *drum rolls* a person’s yearly intake of fast food contains 12 pubic hairs! *barf*

Am I speaking to any wine drinkers here? Well, I have something for you guys. Did you know that whatever falls over the vineyard gets mixed in wine…including MICE?

So, how are you guys recovering from your shock of disgust? I know I know. Well, it’s good to be aware about what are you putting in your mouth, better knowing than being oblivious right? That’s all for today! Will catch you guys tomorrow! Bye!

Green tea, I am not a fan, but what about you?

Holla people! We meet again! How are we feeling today? I am feeling green! Yes, green! Coming to think of it, green has been associated with various expressions before, for an example, “She is green with envy,” or “These greens are such a refreshing sight to the eyes.” Anyway, today I am going to talk about something that has been so popular among Malaysians for the past few years, that is – Green Tea! I am generally a Coffee person, so I am not much of a fan of tea, moreover if its green tea. So, I never really bothered to try green tea although my friends were already started to craze over this particular beverage.

However I was introduced to green tea when I was co-incidentally having my first course of Japanese food (sushi, and bento). I came to an understanding that the green tea is free flow, so we can refill all we want. “Great! Just like McDonalds”, I whispered before taking my first sip of my very first green tea. As the green tea come into contact on my palate, I was greeted with a hint of bitterness as well as blandness. I did not like it at all. My first try was unsuccessful but as I visit more and more Japanese restaurants, I still go ahead and try more and more green teas, and as time pass by I got used to the taste and flavour yet I didn't quite like it still, even today.

Behold! Before you abash me hurtful words, though I fail to grow my fondness towards green tea, I just want to justify myself by saying, yes, I know that green tea has wonderful benefits, in fact today I am going to share about the facts!

Did you know that green tea has the power to fight cancer? Yes, it does! This reason alone would naturally lead me to drink more of this green goodness. Green tea also lowers your cholesterol level, and reduces them to keep you healthier. Another benefit of green tea is they fight cavities! They also protect against heart disease as well as speeds metabolism.

Green tea also has the power to prevent dementia, as well as bad breath! Try to drink a cup of green tea before a date and you will see how wonderful things will turn out to be. Green tea is also full of anti-oxidants gives you a healthy skin. Another wonderful benefit by consuming green tea is it manages to prevent diabetes. Not only that, green tea also maintains a healthy circulatory system.

 One of the greatest deals of drinking green tea is it detoxifies! Most of our health problems when our body doesn’t detox all the toxins out from our body, and just imagine how much wonder can a cup of green tea make in your body?

Green tea has so much of benefits, and if you are just like me who is not exactly a fan of green tea, do remember to drink a cup or two to absorb all the wonders from the tea and enjoy the upside of the beverage! Enjoy your cup of green tea today!