Yes! You can find Yee Sang here in NYC!!!

As many of you know, we didn't go home to Malaysia for Chinese New Year this year. It always suxs to spend Chinese New Year in a foreign land, away from the family. Not only does one miss out on all the family reunions and festivities, but we also miss out on all the FOOD! I was talking to some of my family and friends who also missed out on celebrating Chinese New Year back home this year and everybody says that of all the things that they miss most, it would have to be the Chinese New Year goodies. Sure, you can bake your own Chinese New Year cookies or buy some at the Asian grocery store, but certain things are a tiny bit harder to find. One of them is the Yee Sang.

As far as I can remember, we've always associated eating Yee Sang as part of celebrating Chinese New Year. I've always thought that Yee Sang is a Chinese dish and that Chinese from all over the world eat it during Chinese New Year. I guess it was due to the fact that you can pretty much find it at any Chinese restaurant in Malaysia during the Chinese New Year period. Not only that, boxes of prepacked Yee Sang are readily available at all major supermarkets and grocery stores. It wasn't til I moved to US did I find out that the Yee Sang is actually a Malaysian/Singaporean dish. Therefore, it's almost impossible to find a Chinese restaurant here in the States that would serve Yee Sang during Chinese New Year. Well, guess what? I found out that you CAN find Yee Sang here in the greater NYC area! As far as I know, there are three Malaysian restaurants in Chinatown and one in Edison, NJ that serves that for the entire month of February.

On the first day of Chinese New Year, Kevin and I dropped by New Malaysia Restaurant (located in the tunnel between Bowery & Elizabeth St in Chinatown) to take out a small serving of Yee Sang. In New Malaysia, the servings come in two sizes, small ($26.88) and large ($36.88). As you can see from the picture, the small serving is large enough to feed about 6-7 people. Even though the Yee Sang from New Malaysia might seem a little pricey compared to the other restaurants, I must say that New Malaysia's Yee Sang totally rocks! Really yummy and authentic tasting. Apart from the usual dried ingredients and thinly sliced vegetables, it also comes with salmon, jellyfish, plum sauce as well as pepper and five spice powder in the angpow (red packet).

So far, we have only tried the Yee Sang from New Malaysia Restaurant and Penang Restaurant (the branch in Edison, NJ). I know that there are many Penang branches all over the greater NYC region but I believe that Yee Sang is only served in the Chinatown as well as the Edison branch. For those of you who are thinking of getting some Yee Sang during this Chinese New Year period, here is a list of restaurants that serves them (there might be more but so far, these are the only places that I know of that sells them).

New Malaysia Restaurant
48 Bowery St,
New York, NY 10013
(212) 964-0284
Price: $26.88 (small), $36.88 (large)

Nyonya Restaurant
199 Grand Street
New York, NY 10013
(212) 334-3669
Price: $23.88 (small), $28.88 (medium)

Jaya Restaurant
90 Baxter Street,
New York, NY 10013
(212) 219-3331 ‎
Price: $18.88 (small), $28.88 (large)

Penang Restaurant
505 Old Post Road
Edison, NJ 08817-4625
(732) 287-3038
Price: $14.85 (small), $20.20 (med), $25.55 (large)

Boston Market - North Arlington, NJ

It was one of those nights where we felt like eating a nice home cooked meal but didn't really feel like cooking. Sure, there are many nice restaurants out there that serves really good home style cooking but we wanted something quick and affordable :P So, it was off to Boston Market we go.
We have always love the food from Boston Market. We can choose whatever main we want and pick our favorite sides. It feels like Thanksgiving (minus all the hours in the kitchen) everyday! :D When we arrived, we saw a huge poster on the window advertising their 25th Anniversary Specials. Prices start at only $4.99! For $4.99, you get a 1/4 dark meat rotisserie chicken, cornbread and your choice of two sides. I remember them offering three pieces of dark meat chicken for $4.99 earlier this year but 1/4 a chicken is fine too, I guess.
We both decided to go for that special. Kevin ordered the 1/4 dark meat rotisserie chicken with stuffing and mashed potatoes ($4.99). As usual, the mashed potatoes, stuffing and chicken tasted great! However, we were quite surprised at the size of the 1/4 chicken. Look at it..it's tiny!!! Let me note that the plate is just a regular size plate (not some over sized platter), so yeah, the chicken was really really tiny.
I also had the $4.99 special. For my sides, I chose the Creamed Spinach and Mediterranean Green Beans. I found the spinach to be a tad bit too salty but totally loved the green beans. Yummy green beans tossed in garlic butter with roasted red peppers, dill and crunchy almonds. Mmmm mmmm mmmm really yummy. The cornbread was also very very good. Again, the downside was the size of the chicken. I still cannot get over the size of the chicken. Sooo tiny. I guess we would need to order the 3 pieces dark meat chicken the next time around.
We added on two Iced Tea ($1.89 each) to go along with our meal. Overall, it was a good meal. However, the size of the chicken made it little disappointing. Also, I wonder why they changed the promotion from getting 3 pieces of dark meat chicken to only a 1/4 chicken for $4.99. That kinda suxs :( Oh well, with that said, we still love Boston Market. Where else can you get home style cooking (with so many different side choices) for such an affordable price? :D

Boston Market - North Arlington, NJ
491 Ridge Road
North Arlington, NJ 07031
Tel: (201)997 1006
Web: http://www.bostonmarket.com

IHOP Restaurant - Elizabeth, NJ

We were in Jersey Garden Mall a couple of weeks ago and as usual, we would lose track of time whenever we are there :P Before we knew it, it was already close to dinner time (looks like we totally skipped lunch!). Since there isn't many food outlets (and their food court is ALWAYS packed) in the mall, we decided to drive out to see what is available around the area.
There used to be a diner just opposite the mall but we vowed never to go back there. It was a horrible diner, with bad service and equally bad food. When we passed the diner (or what USED to be the diner), we were pleasantly surprised that the diner was no longer there. An brand new looking IHOP was in it's place. Woohoo!! Looks like that horrid diner went out of business or something. Who knows. Anyways, we totally love IHOP, so we decided to go check this new outlet out.
After we settled down, we saw that they were having a special, just for the month of October. When you order one of their combos (prices start from $4.99), you get unlimited buttermilk pancakes to go with it! Yup, all you can eat pancakes! We decided to give that a pass though, cos seriously, how many pancakes can you eat? I know that the max I can eat is probably two :P Also, they are giving away a 'SCARY FACE' pancake to all kids under 12 on Oct 29th. So, if you have kids below 12, remember to head out to any IHOP on Oct 29th for your free pancake!
The servers were really friendly and attentive. They all look so happy and stuff...lol! I guess it's a new outlet, so everybody is excited. Our server took our order and came out with our drinks also immediately. Really fast. Kevin had a soda ($2.19) and I had my usual unsweetened iced tea ($2.19). Our server was really good in making sure that our glasses were always filled too. Two thumbs up for the awesome service.
Kevin ordered the Ham & Egg Melt ($6.99). Ham, scrambled eggs, American and Swiss cheese, stuffed between two slices of grilled sourdough bread. It comes with your choice of either seasoned fries, onion rings, fresh fruit, soup or salad and a dill pickle. Kevin went with the seasoned fries. He said that the melt was really good. I believe him, cos he polished off everything on his plate!
I had the Pot Roast Melt ($7.99). Slow cooked pot roast, caramelized onions, melted Swiss and American cheese topped with rich beef and mushroom gravy, in between two slices of grilled sourdough bread. Mmmm mmmm mmmmm, it was really really good.
I chose the soup of the day as my side. I had a choice between cream of broccoli and potato soup or minestrone soup. I went with minestrone. Good choice I must say. It was really thick and hearty, very very yummy. Just add in some crackers and I can have that as my meal!
Since we were in IHOP, we HAD to order dessert :P It was a toss up between pancakes, stuffed french toast, waffles or crepe and we went with crepe in the end. I'm glad we did cos it was delicious! We shared the Nutella Crepe ($6.99) and really, it was awesome! Three egg batter crepes filled with Nutella and fresh slices bananas, topped with strawberries, powdered sugar and some whipped cream on the side. We can feel ourselves getting fatter and fatter as we dig in but hey, everybody is allowed to indulge, once in a while :P Overall, we had a great dinner in IHOP, with some really yummy food, affordable prices and excellent service. I'm glad that we found this new outlet and you can bet on us returning in the very near future!

IHOP Restaurant - Elizabeth, NJ
650-672 Kapowski Road
Elizabeth, NJ 07201
Tel: (908)353 7600
Web: http://www.ihop.com/

Simple & Quick Pancit Canton

Out of all the Filipino noodle dishes that I know of, I would have to say that the Pancit Canton has got to be the most popular. Noodles was introduced to the Filipinos by the Chinese way back when and since then, the Pancit Canton has fast become a favorite among the Filipinos. Since noodles symbolizes longevity, the Pancit Canton is usually cooked during birthdays, Christmas, New Year and other celebrations. However, the Pancit Canton is so easy to make and yummy to eat, you can pretty much make it anytime that you want. There is no need to wait for a special occasion :P So, here is a really simple Pancit Canton recipe that I tried out a couple of weeks ago. Enjoy!

Start off by heating up some vegetable oil in a large wok. Then, add in some minced garlic. Saute the garlic til it's almost light brown. Then, add in some thinly sliced chicken breast. I pre marinated the chicken slices with some light soy sauce, pepper and cornstarch about an hour or so earlier.
Once the chicken slices are almost cooked, add in some carrot slices and some straw mushrooms. Usually, Shitake/Chinese mushrooms are used but since Kevin is not a big fan of Shitake mushrooms, I used straw mushrooms instead.
Allow the ingredients to cook for a little bit then add in some cabbage and some sugar snap peas. Mix everything together and allow it to cook.
After the vegetables are almost cooked, add in some shrimp that has been peeled and cleaned. Stir fry that a little until the shrimp is cooked.
Next, add in some chicken broth and some oyster sauce. Some people would also add in some light soy sauce but I feel that the broth and oyster sauce combo is salty enough. You can add in a little bit of light soy sauce if you like.
Once the chicken broth comes to a rapid boil, add in the pancit noodles. The pancit noodles are somewhat like our Chinese 'yee mein' and can be bought at any Asian grocery store. Mix the noodles with the rest of the ingredients and allow it to soften in the chicken broth. Continue to let it simmer and when most of the chicken broth have reduced, the pancit canton is done!
A yummy large wok on pancit canton, all ready to be served. Wasn't that really simple to make? It doesn't require much prep and you can whip it up in minutes. So, the next time you are at an Asian grocery store, pick up a pack of pancit canton noodles and give this recipe a try!

Restoran Teow Chew Meng - PJ, Malaysia

When you talk about Malaysian food, one would automatically think of Nasi Lemak, Char Koay Teow, Satay...things like that. You can pretty much find those delicacies anywhere in Malaysia. However, there are lesser known regional favorites that can only be found in certain areas in Malaysia. For example, there is the choon pneah (egg rolls), roti babi (stuffed deep fried bread), cheh hoo (a slightly spicy chinese salad) and my all time favorite, mee suah tow. Those dishes originate from Penang and you can pretty much only find it in Penang. In fact, unless you know somebody from Penang, there is a high chance you would not even have heard of those dishes before (yes, I am not just talking about foreigners but Malaysians from other states too!). As a little girl, I would look forward to lunches at the cafe in OFA with my parents. In my opinion, they made some really kick ass mee suah tow! Oh, sorry, for those of you who don't know, mee suah is flour vermicelli and mee suah tow is mee suah cooked in a starchy broth, somewhat like sharks fin soup.

After we moved to PJ, the only time we could get to eat mee suah tow was when we were back visiting Penang. You cannot believe our excitement when we saw a Teow Chew Meng branch in SS2! Yes, SS2! That's like 5 minutes away from my parents house in Damansara Jaya. Teow Chew Meng is well known for their uber yummy mee suah tow! They originally started selling their mee suah tow in a small shack somewhere in Butterworth and their children expended the business to an air conditioned shop in Pulau Tikus, Penang. From there, it continued to grow and they now have branches all over. This SS2 branch is not located in the main busy SS2 square but it's over on the quieter side of SS2, at the Seapark/SS2 border. It' faces the housing area and it's on the same row as Lobsterman.
Apart from the yummy mee suah tow, they have quite a lot of really good side dishes that you can order to share too. My favorite is the Apple Beancurd (RM10 = US$3.20). Deep fried beancurd topped with shredded granny smith apples, dried shrimp and a sweet thai influenced sauce. Really really good. The octopus with rojak sauce (RM10 = US$3.20 for small, RM15 = US$4.80 for regular) and seafood roll (RM10 small, RM15 regular) is good too.
My dad is not a big fan of mee suah tow (even though my mom, Ash and myself simply adores it). So, he would usually order the Seafood Fried Rice (RM10 = US$3.20). I tried a mouthful, it's not too bad. Nothing really to shout about though. It's just regular fried rice with some shrimp, squid, chicken and egg..topped with some spring onions. You could also order porridge, noodles as well as oyster noodles if you do not like mee suah tow.
Ahhhh here it is. A huge serving of Sharkfin Mee Suah Tow (RM11 = US$3.50 per person). This portion is for three people. Mee suah cooked with large shrimp, crabsticks, fish maw,fish slices, bamboo clams, squid in a flavorful thick seafood broth. It is then topped with sharkfin and fried garlic in oil. It is originally served with a whole bunch fresh cilantro and spring onions on top but we told them not to add that to ours (not a big cilantro fan :P). Mmmm mmm mmm, nothing beats a big bowl of piping hot mee suah tow, complete with black vinegar. So, the next time you are in SS2 and what to try something new, head over to Teow Chew Meng and order yourself a big bowl of Mee Suah Tow!

Restoran Teow Chew Meng - PJ, Malaysia
33, Jalan SS2/30
47300 Petaling Jaya
Selangor, Malaysia
Tel: (603) 7877 9298

Beef Noodles @ Kedai Kopi Lai Foong - KL, Malaysia

If you were to ask me where you can find the best beef noodles in KL, I would have to tell you that, in my opinion, nothing beats the beef noodles in Lai Foong. I know quite a few people who thinks that the Ngau Kee beef noodles in Tingkat Tong Shin is the best ever, but I beg to differ. Sure, it's good. In fact, better than good. We would usually head out there in the wee hours of the morning, right after a night of clubbing and partying. A big bowl of beef noodles usually hits the spot! However, I still firmly believe that the beef noodles in Lai Foong is way better than the Ngau Kee beef noodles. Yup, Lai Foong wins hands down! :D

Kedai Kopi Lai Foong (Lai Foong Coffee Shop) is located at the corner of Jalan Tun H.S. Lee and Jalan Tan Cheng Lock, right smack in the heart of the city. Amidst all the smog, dust from the busy main roads and loud constant honking from the crazy KL traffic is where you will find this little piece of heaven. We would make it a point to head down to the city every time we are back home in KL, just for the beef noodles. Something like my very own beef noodles pilgrimage :P As you can imagine, parking can be a problem. So, there are two ways to go about it. One is to take the LRT (Putra Line) and get off at the Pasar Seni (Central Market) station. Just cross the road and walk up a few blocks and you are there. The other option is to drive to Central Market and park at the Central Market parking lot. Option two is a little bit more expensive, cos parking in the city doesn't come cheap. However, it's more convenient. What we would usually do is, drive to Central Market, walk around for a bit (while picking up a whole lot of souvenirs for the folks back in the States), walk over to Lai Foong for a late lunch and continue down the street to Chinatown/Petaling St after lunch. Yup, that's our usual "Beef Noodle Pilgrimage". LOL!
Kedai Kopi Lai Foong is a pretty cool coffee shop. Walking into that coffee shop is like taking a step back in time. With it's dated tile floors and wall to the marble table tops and wooden chairs, it's definitely from a whole different era. I was told that this historic coffee shop is almost 60 years old. Wow, it's even older than Malaysia! Even though it's really old, it's still bustling with activity. It gets really packed during lunch hour, so the best time to go would be just before lunch or after the lunch crowd. As you can see from the clock on the wall, we went around 2:20pm and managed to get a table without having to fight for one.
Ahhhh, this is the famous beef noodle stall. The guy with the hat and red apron is Thomas, the beef noodle man himself! His dad started the beef noodle stall in Lai Foong back in 1956 and he took over after his dad retired. After all this years, the beef noodles still remains as good as it was back then. The stock is still made with the same 80 year old Hainanese family recipe that was passed to his father from his grandfather. No wonder those beef noodles are so mmm mmm goood!!!
Here is it! The famous beef noodles from Lai Foong. Mannnn, what I would do for a bowl of that now! Tender slices of beef and tendon, yummy beef balls, chopped salted mustard greens, cilantro and noodles in a hearty flavorful stock. Soooooooooo goood! It also comes with a side of home made chili sauce. What I would do is just pour the whole dish of chili sauce into that big bowl of noodles. It definitely kicks it up a notch. The price starts at RM5 (approx US$1.50) for a medium size bowl and it goes up til RM8 (approx US$2.50) for an extra large with a whole lot of extra toppings. It's so good, it's worth every cent! Maybe even more :P So, the next time you are in KL, go check out the beef noodle stall in Lai Foong. Trust me, it's the best beef noodles in KL, hands down!

Kedai Kopi Lai Foong - KL, Malaysia
138 Jalan Tun HS Lee,
50150 Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia
Tel: (603)2072 8123

Hainanese Delights - Penang, Malaysia

When we were back in Malaysia for Chinese New Year earlier this year, we spent about 90% of our time there eating :P Malaysians eat all the time, in times of celebration, during family gatherings, when meeting up with friends, in times of sadness...anytime! Not only do we enjoy eating, but we also enjoy hunting down and discovering places that serves good food. I dare say that almost the whole nation is made up of foodies. Therefore, you can imagine the amount of places/restaurants we tried during our one month vacation in Malaysia. Over the next few weeks or maybe even months (hey, we went to a LOT of places to eat :P), we will try to feature at least one restaurant, once every few days. We hope that our reviews will help our Malaysian readers decide where to go to for their next meal and also introduce the various types of food found in Malaysia to our non Malaysian readers. Alright, so sit back and join us on our gastronomical tour of Malaysia.

We were back in Penang (my family now lives in KL but Penang is our hometown) to celebrate Chinese New Year. Like us, many families from all over Malaysia would return to Penang for CNY. Now, Penang is well known for it's food. So, you can imagine the crowds and chaos at eating places during this season. My dad was working that day (the last day before the long CNY vacation), so my mom took us and Ashley out to lunch. She said that if we wanted really authentic Hainanese food, we should check out Hainanese Delights. So, we braved the crowds and headed to 1926 Heritage Hotel. Hainanese Delights is located inside that hotel. On a side note, 1926 Heritage Hotel is pretty cool. Built in 1926, this row of link houses, with Anglo-Malay architecture used to be the living quarters for British colonial officers and local administrators. Today, they have restored 24 of those link houses and converted them into this beautiful heritage hotel. Cool eh?
As expected, there was a huge crowd at Hainanese Delights (even though it was way past lunch time). We managed to get a table and we were told that because of the CNY season, we could not order from the regular menu but we had to order from the set menu. The set consist of one appetizer, four dishes, steamed rice and one dessert. It cost RM38 (a lil over US$11) per person and we could mix and match a variety of meat, vegetable and seafood dishes. For our appetizer, we HAD to order the Choon Piah (egg roll). Apart from the Roti Babi (fried bread stuffed with meat), I would say that this is one of the most popular Hainaese appetizers ever. Stuffed with meat, crab meat and a host of vegetables, the Choon Piah is traditionally served with a dish of Lea and Perrins sauce. Mmm mmm mmmmm, so good. As expected, it was really good. You can travel all over the world, but you must always return home to Penang to get the best Choon Piahs. Yeah, it's that good.
We also ordered the Braised Leg of Lamb. It was served with some steamed ladies finger (okra) on the side. Juicy and tender, it was pretty good. Also, it was marinated really well and it didn't have that gamey smell that sometimes comes along with lamb dishes. A nice well balanced dish.
Ahhh another Penang favorite, the Assam Prawns (jumbo shrimps marinated with tamarind). The prawns were really huge but unfortunately, the portion was really small. We only had one prawn each :( However, that one prawn really really good. We had to like eat really slow and savour it's yumminess! LOL! Man, I wished the portion was a lil bigger.
For our vegetable dish, we chose the Stuffed Tofu with Broccoli and Crabmeat Sauce. The tofu was stuffed with shrimps. A very light and tasty dish. A nice change from all the other 'heavy' dishes.
We had two choices for our curry dish. We could choose between the Assam Curry Fish (a spicy sourish kind of curry) or Lemak Curry Fish (coconut based, thus making it creamier). Both the curries would be yummy but we went with the Assam Curry because Penang is more well known for it's Nyonya style Assam Curries. The curry was awesome, with really fresh fish and vegetables (onions, tomatoes, okra, lemongrass..etc). It was also served with some fresh mint on top. Boy, it tasted so good with the steamed rice. Yummy!

On top of the set menu, we could choose to add on their house speciality, the Macaroni Pie (RM25 per pie). Their Chicken Pies are also really well known. You see, it's really difficult these days to find authentic Hainanese style Macaroni Pies. It was probably invented back during the colonial era by Hainanese cooks for the British officers and not many people know how to make them anymore. Therefore, if you can find a place that serves them, you HAVE to order it. So, we did! :D The kitchen somehow goofed up and we had to wait reallllllly long for it though. Was it worth it? Well, it was good but it wasn't exactly the Macaroni Pie that I remembered from my childhood. The top layer was the same but the filling was different. The filling in Hainanese Delights was more 'Asian inspired', where else the authentic ones were way creamier. I believe the last time I had really really good Macaroni Pie was in Hollywood Restaurant in Tanjung Bungah (it's long gone now) when I was a little girl. A little bit disappointed with the Macaroni Pie here.
For our dessert, they served us Ais Krim Potong..yay!! Another trip down memory lane. We used to buy this cheap ice cream sticks from the ice cream man on a bicycle after school. He would cut little bars of ice cream from a huge block and stick a skewer into it. Hence the name Ais Krim Potong (cut ice cream). The more popular flavors would be red bean, yam (taro), green bean, corn and durian (my fav!). Hainanese Delight served us some yam and durian ones :D Overall, I would say that the food was pretty awesome. Comfort food at it's best. The food in Hainanese Delights definitely brings you back to another era, to a time when the British ruled over Malaya but the Hainanese chefs ruled in the kitchen. The only downside is the price. The total bill came to RM185.85 (US$60) for four people! That's really expensive (especially since it's only for lunch), for Penang standards. Come to think of it, it's even expensive for KL. Oh well, I guess that's the price you have to pay for authentic comfort food these days.

Hainanese Delights - Penang, Malaysia
1926 Heritage Hotel
228 Burma Road,
10050 Georgetown,
Penang, MALAYSIA
Tel: (604) 226 1926
Hours: Open Tue-Sun 11:30am-3pm, 6pm-10pm

Farm 2 Bistro - Nutley, NJ

When we saw the deal on Groupon for Farm 2 Bistro, we just had to get it. The deal was $15 for a $30 voucher. I've been meaning to check out this place since forever, so with the Groupon deal, it was a good time to do so. Armed with our Groupon, we headed out to Nutley a few Sundays ago for dinner (Yes, I know. I've been meaning to blog about this for quite a while but never got around to it). It's located on Franklin Ave, the main strip in Nutley. Since it was a Sunday, there wasn't really many shops open around that area, so there were ample off street parking.

What made me want to check Farm 2 Bistro out in the first place was it's whole concept and the lifestyle that it promotes. Most of their ingredients are purchased from local farms and markets, when in season. Because of that, they have a diverse menu and feature different specials everyday. They also pride themselves in serving really fresh and healthy food. In fact, their tag phrase is "Farm to Plate, in a Day". I like the whole idea and concept of learning how to live a more sustainable lifestyle.

The moment we walked into the restaurant, we were like "wow". The decor was definitely errrr eclectic. There were a few picnic tables in the middle and a mismatch of tables and chairs all around. Random things were hanging on the walls but the tin ceiling was pretty cool though. There was also a weird musky kinda smell that I cannot place, maybe it's just an old building. The whole place had this laid back hippie kinda feel to it. We felt a bit out of place and a lil weird :P

The waitress took our drinks order and gave us the dinner menu to look through. Both Kevin and I ordered Unsweetened Iced Tea ($3 each). Farm 2 Bistro is also a BYOB, so you can bring along your favorite bottle of wine to go with dinner, if you choose to.

Kevin ordered the Shepard's Pie ($16, even though the online menu says $15). The portion was really small though. I asked Kevin if it was any good and he said it was just alright. I guess it wasn't all that great but it wasn't bad either. However, to pay $16 for this tiny mediocre serving of Shepard's Pie is little too much.

I ordered the Balsamic Chicken ($16, again..it says $15 on the online menu). Seared chicken breast, marinated in Balsamic Vinaigrette. It was served with fresh mozzarella, local tomatoes and pesto on top. Now, this was really really good. Again, the portion was really small but it tasted great. As much as I love the taste, I do not know if paying $16 for such a small portion, is justifiable. I would understand if it's a nice restaurant, but this is just a small and casual suburban cafe. I don't know.

There was a whole table filled with home made cakes, muffins and pastries, on display, just next to us. They all looked super yummy, so we decided to share a slice of carrot cake ($5). I must say that it's as yummy as it looks. Really moist and delicious! That really ended our meal on a sweet note :D
Now, here comes the part that ruined our whole dinner experience. When we first walked in, we showed the waitress our Groupon voucher. She said alright. Then, when the bill came, you can see from the pic above that she took out $30 from our total bill BUT added on a 18% tip for herself! It was just the two of us and not a huge party of six or more. Why should she add on a 18% gratuity? When we asked her, she just said that because we used a Groupon voucher, she HAD to add that in. Now, no where on the voucher or the Groupon website does it say that it's mandatory to add in a 18% gratuity. Of course we will tip her, but it is not right for her to add in the 18% herself, INSIST that it's done because we used the Groupon voucher and that's the policy. She was just outright lying thru her teeth. Boy, I really dislike people like that. The service in that place wasn't all that great, definitely not worth getting that 18%. We didn't want to argue with her anymore, so we just paid the bill and left. With the steep prices, small portions and horrible service...I don't think we will ever return again, no matter how good the Balsamic Chicken or Carrot Cake was.

Farm 2 Bistro - Nutley, NJ
177 Franklin Avenue,
Nutley, NJ 07110
Tel: (973) 667 3276
Web: http://www.farmbistro.com

Yong Chow Fried Rice

If you were to ask me what is my all time favorite food to make, I would have to say "Fried Rice". Not only is it versatile, it is also really simple to make. Some leftover rice, bits of meat and a handful vegetables in the fridge? No problem. Just throw it all together and we have fried rice for dinner! You cannot go wrong with fried rice :P Today, I'm going to show you how easy it is to make an all time favorite, Yong Chow Fried Rice. Also known as Chinese Fried Rice, it's the basic type of fried rice that you can get at Chinese restaurants all over the world. Here's how you make it.

Start off by heating up some oil in a large wok or pan. Then, throw in some chopped garlic and onions and saute for a few minutes.

Next, add in some Chinese sausages that has been cut into cubes. Traditionally, roast pork (char siu) is being used but many restaurants are now using Chinese sausages because it gives out a sweeter and fuller flavor. If you do not like pork, you can replace the pork with slices of chicken breast (pre marinated in some soy sauce, cornflour and pepper) too.

Once you have stir fried the Chinese sausage for a bit, add in some peas and carrots. Certain restaurants would use long beans instead of peas and carrots, it's entirely up to you. Remember to keep the wok on high flame. That's really important when it comes to making authentic tasting fried rice. It just doesn't taste right if fried rice is cooked on low flame.

Once all the ingredients are almost cooked, throw in some large white shrimp that has been peeled and cleaned. You could also use some crab sticks (surimi) if you like. If you really want to kick your fried rice up a notch, just throw in some lump crab meat. That's always good too. If you are not a seafood lover, you can skip the seafood altogether. Like I said earlier, it's really flexible when it comes to making fried rice. Just throw in whatever you have left over in your fridge.

Now it's time to throw in some cooked rice. It's important not to use freshly cooked rice. It's too starchy and tends to stick together. The best type of rice to use is chilled day old rice.

Add in a few splashes of soy sauce, freshly ground white pepper and stir everything together. At this point, the Yong Chow Fried Rice is ready to be served.

However, if you like eggs with your fried rice, now is the time to add them in. Make a hole in the middle of the fried rice and crack two eggs in. Add a little bit of soy sauce to the eggs and scramble them. Once they are cooked, mix them up with the rest of the fried rice.

There you go. A nice big wok of Yong Chow Fried Rice. It's so easy make, even a child can do it. Actually, come to think about it, that's the first dish you learn to make during living skills classes back in Malaysia. So yeah, all 13 year olds in Malaysia can make this dish! ;P