Chicago Rib House

Oh yeah, I caught the online deal bug and started buying vouchers. The most impromptu and fast and exciting voucher purchase has got to be the Chicago Rib House meal sets. I did happen to see it earlier, but it did not dawn to me to purchase it, because I thought to myself, maybe its just another one of those normal diners.

Then one night when I was busy surfing the net while the kids were in slumberland, on the last few hours of the deal, I saw it again. And this time noticed more than 5000 vouchers have been sold. Then I struck me, something must be good. Then I checked out the website, and saw the menu. Seeing the yummylicious ribs, I was sold immediately. I whatsapp the sleeping hubby, who later replied, 'lets go tomorrow', and mind you, it is not a normal short trip. It is from one side of the Klang Valley to another, that too with 2 little kids. That itself increases the journey distance by ten folds. You know what I mean.

It was a weekday afternoon, and 1Utama was nice and clear of crowds. This is why I love going out shopping, dining, whatever-ing on weekdays. It feels like the whole world is working away while we are free and about enjoying the peaceful malls. Plus this chance does not come often, so it is very much treasured opportunity.

The entrance of the restaurant looks rather small and we begin to doubt the food as well. But once we went inside we were relieved and were like 'bring em on!'. So we had 2 sets of ribs from the vouchers, and to complete our dunch (or linner, lunch+dinner, if you must), we ordered a pork burger, because we are big eaters like that.

The verdict? Excellent ribs, they slip off the bones like velvet... so luxe, no? The side dishes very disappointing, not as good as our favourite American diner. The burger was just too juicy, thanks to the caramelised onions dripping with sauce and not to mention the burger and bacon. It just completed the deal! We did not skip desert, and sadly it was quite disappointing too. But we would definitely go back, and eat nothing but ribs and more ribs.

And yeah, kids eat free for each main dish, so here we have Sanju playing lipstick with the tartar sauce that came with the fish and chips.

Other than that, the kids also enjoyed the not-so-good fries.

Harold and Kumar Go Burger Bakar No.1

During my recent getaway to JB, I got poisoned with the JB's famous Burger Bakar No.1 in Bukit Indah after reading a friend's Facebook status. Apparently the burger patties are thick grilled patties, sold at a stall with a long queue of patient patrons. That certainly says something about the burgers, if the customers are willing to wait for their orders. As usual I did an immediate holler to hubby who was in Klang at that time, made plans to grab a bite once there.

Our initial plan for the burger biting did not work out due to unforeseen circumstances. On top of that I had to endure Resident Evil: Retribution. Yeah we went for it at the cineplex, and it only reassured the reason why I avoid such movies. I would write a review of it but heck, I'm not in the mood to make myself all nasty. The less said the better, you get it?

So the next day, hubby and brother (Harold and Kumar) cunningly made a smooth plan tucking me and kids away at home to grab the burger, like finally, or so they thought! My only consolation was that they were going to pack my share of the loot for supper. They waited half an hour for their order, only to be told that they were out of patties. Poor fellas made their way back to Permas Jaya for the local burger stall that sells exotic meat burgers such as rabbit, ostrich and lamb. Sadly the burger stall was already closed, somewhere before 11pm. Then brother suggested to go for some other equally famous, Molek Roti John, which again was already closed, or was it that they did not operate on that day. Regardless, bad news for the duo. Finally they decided to use their lifeline and call a friend. Much to their delight the friend told them that Burger Bakar No. 1 has a branch in Masai. H and K made their way there pronto and ordered our grilled burgers!

They made it home sometime before 1am and had a hell of a story to tell me about their journey. I was impressed, so what Harold and Kumar went through was not just a movie, it really happens in real life! With the big round that they took around JB and the outskirts, they warned the burger better be good, else... errr... maybe they will go discredit the burger seller.

The burgers were packed carefully with a skewer to ensure it stands with it's given altitude. And the moment you open the packing you see the proud tall double burger standing surrounded by the halo of their very own sauce. The sauce is the hero of the whole thing. The burger patties were thick and yet grilled to perfection, but it's the sauce that pulled it all together. Since it is so huge, we ended up eating one bread with one patty at a time, slowly dipping into the drizzle of sauce below, just like Capati and dal, or thosai with sambar, or perhaps rice and curry.

Check out the height of the monsterous burger! Each bite was like a trip to burger lala-land, we could literally see stars. By the last bite, we had so much that we could not think about food for the next 10 hours (yeah ok so it was already bedtime). Although delicious on the taste, the size of it is so overwhelming that you need to detox yourself off the giant burger. By next morning we were still feeling full. Giant grilled burgers before bedtime = bad idea. Now we know., till the next gastronomical adventure!

Paratha and Chickpeas with Spinach

I grew up eating capati and parathas daily with almost vegetarian meals daily. Unlike our local roti prata fusion flat bread, the original north indian varieties of flat bread are much more healthy for the family. The wholemeal atta flour is used, which means there is whole lot of wheat goodness in it. And these capati or parathas can be filled with stuffing of your choice, the possibilities are just endless!

The process of kneading and rolling out the flat breads can require a lot of labour and practice. Which is why I had procrastinated (rather lazy) of making it for a while now. Plus having an infant that required 120% of my time did not give me much opportunity to work on it.

After what feels like ages of ages, I finally got to work on my rusty capati making skills. I am not a fan of the kneading part, but somehow I survived. This give me some encouragement to make more, hopefully!

So here is, Paratha and Chickpeas with Spinach, served with some raw onions, yes raw!

The recipe for the Chickpeas is something I got from this site here. You can get chickpeas in the dry section of the supermarket. It needs to be cooked in the pressure cooker for 20-30 mins till it is soft. Drain out the water and save it to add into the dish later for gravy. You can also save the balance as vegetable stock, because it is filled with lots of nutrients. I also used onions and garlic in the sautee.

The recipe for the paratha is here. Mine is the square type, instead of the triangle as in the link. The aim is to get flaky layered parathas, whichever shape that works is fine.

Apart from getting all down to my Indian roots, I also did explore some unknown Italian connection. Make some baked pasta with the leftover cumin cauliflower I had.

With the success of this paratha making, I'm all charged up to make different varieties. Whether I succeed or not, you will surely know from my blog updates **crossing fingers and toes and hope for success**.

Who Needs..?

Who needs a gardener when you have not one but two kids volunteering to tend over the plants?

Who needs a bodyguard when you have a commando guarding over your house?






... Who trains shooting at the arcade...








... Who also works out during spare time...








Who needs an Airasia ticket when you can fly with cute cartoon figures?








... Also a boat ride with Doraemon






... And a boat ride with others





Who needs wheels when you can ride the bike without them?







Who needs a best friend when you have Spiderman to carry you?

The Dating Parents

It has been quite a challenge in starting to write this blog. Simply because we do not date anymore. After the arrival of the kids that is. Most of the times we are out with the whole gang of kids, creating an almost world war 3 upon entering the restaurant. Handling fussy kids. Feeding hungry and curious kids. And then leave the spot with a mess of a thousand evidences of extra terrestrial activities.

This is the story about the dating parents, who go to Bier Haus in Johor Jaya JB, for some romantic time away with nice drinks and awesome (drumrolls) pork knuckles! In fact we have made several trips there during our holiday in JB but usually I get a writer's bloc and really can't start anywhere.

Getting straight to the point, the menu for us is pretty much decided. The pork knuckle platter with some side dishes of sauerkraut and mashed potatoes it is! Usually the waiter tells us it might be too large portion, but we tell them, bring it on!

To complement the gluttony meal, we had a bottle of wine for the romantic factor, remember we are on a date.

We spend the nice quiet evening reminiscing the past, talking about present, and planning the future. Many references and discussions often brought us back to thinking and talking about the kids. In fact it felt like we were the ones missing the kids more than they missed us. Talk about clingy parents.

A part of me was expecting SOS call on Jeev looking for me, but no news was good news. And good news was good express dating session. The little one has grown up independent and slowly less clingy now *wiping tears*, we are so proud of him!

Here is the picture of the perfect couple, just like hubby and I. And no, I won't be sharing our couple picture. Just because.