~ Come Rayne Or Shine ~

This one was a little while back...I had previously been here with a few friends for dinner, and it was so good I raved about it to my parents until they wanted to try it too! Heh! 

Tucked in a (somewhat) secluded lane in USJ at an industrial area, Brother Yat Restaurant is a bit tricky to locate, but for those who do know how to get there, you'll find that the place is always jam packed especially at dinner time! I didn't manage to get the address, but it is somewhere near The Summit and Giant in USJ....They're famous for their 'Sauna Prawns', and here is why:

Live prawns were put in a pot filled with hot stones, and a small glass of beer was poured in as well. The assistant here demonstrates...

After the beer was put in...steam facial, anyone??

Voila!! The end result! The prawns were still alive and kicking when put into the pot so you can guarantee that it's fresh, and when the beer was poured in, it evaporates quickly and seeps into the prawns (especially the heads), so you get the sweet taste of the prawns and just a little hint of beer...yumm! Yeah, I kind of get that it sounds like animal cruelty, but that's how they were cooked here, so...>.<"

We also had this pork dish which was scrumptious! I don't recall the name of this dish, but it's thinly sliced pork belly meat that's deep fried and then stirred with a delectable gravy that will make you go for seconds every time! So you get this crunchy, 'NOM NOM' feeling with every bite...MMMM!!

Vegetables are a must, especially for my Mom...*grins* This is kangkung stir fried with belacan, the Malaysian favourite! The amount of belacan included is just nice; not too salty or overwhelming like others...whets the appetite VERY well!

And this is a simple stir fried dish with garlic...love the smoky taste to it that one can only get with BIG FIRE at the kitchen! *grins*

This is the XO Sauce tauhu that was ordered as well...don't be fooled by the word "XO" though! It's not made from the XO wine. Rather, it is finely minced dried shrimp, shallots, garlic and a bit of chilly. Not spicy at all, but you get that nice taste...something SIMILAR to belacan I guess, but it's more of a "Chinese" belacan, if you know what I mean...heh! Very nice topping for the golden brown tauhu that's a little crispy on the outside, but soft on the inside. *licks lips*

Out of a whim, my sister wanted to order a chicken dish...so we got this Smoked Chicken dish. It certainly lived up to its name! Marinated with Chinese herbs, the chicken is first smoked and then steamed (I think), so you get this nice herbal taste in the chicken as well as the broth that came with it! The smoky taste complements the herbs very well too!

In retrospect, it was quite a good dining experience...my only qualm with it was the location, as we got lost quite a bit along the way. LOL! Pricing was not bad too...we spent about RM100+ for all those dishes with rice and a big pot of tea for 6-7 people. Not bad eh? *grins*

Okay, I have tonnes to post about, so expect more food stuffs coming this way real fast! Heh! For now, I will be posting the latest ones and slowly work my way back. Hopefully I can get all these out quick enough! *crosses fingers* This time around, I went to my uncle's newly opened restaurant in Seremban! It's called "The Gift Tilapia Restaurant" which specializes in - you guessed it right - Tilapia dishes!

The premise of the restaurant. Very simple set up, but don't judge a book by its cover just yet! *wink* The restaurant's address:

The menu...very simple dishes as of now, but there will be more to come! For now, let me show you what we had:

Vegetables...standard fare, blanched lettuce with oyster sauce and a little bit of oil. Simple yet yummy!

Stir fried bean sprouts...also another simple dish.

Then comes the highlight of the day! Yummy fish! Remember the green tilapia that I mentioned in this post? Well, this fish is the main attraction in the restaurant! This is the Portugese grilled fish...a whole fish grilled but still tender and spread with a yummy 'secret recipe' chilli paste that will have you adding more and more rice! The dish is topped with fresh lady's fingers.(a MUST in this dish! The chillies go very well with the lady's finger!) 

Not to toot my uncle's horn and stuff, but the fish is just finger-licking good! Not only is it fresh, but the meat just falls away from the bone when you take it up (it's THAT tender!) and when you put it in the mouth, it melts away like pudding...yummmmm! Plus, you don't get that earthy taste that we normally get with the Tilapia here, so it's a win-win situation! *grins*

Another variation of the grilled fish...this is a simple, soya sauce version. Topped with sliced ginger and spring onions it's perfect for those who are not fond of spicy food. You can just taste the 'sweetness' of the fish meat in this dish because the sauce brings that out. If the fish is not fresh, you'll never be able to taste that! 

Last but not least, we had the salted prawns! My uncle raises prawns in his aquaculture farm too, so these prawns are guaranteed fresh! Seasoned with a generous helping of salt, the prawns are wrapped in an aluminum foil packet and subsequently grilled. When it's done, the packet is ripped open and you get THIS! You'd have to remove the salt of course, since it's just a seasoning, but the prawns are SOOOOO good! Simple concept as it is, you can't beat fresh food cooked the proper way...*grins*

So, if you're ever in the neighborhood, drop by The Gift Tilapia Restaurant! You'll never think the same about tilapia dishes again! *wink*

I've got to say, even though my so-called interview didn't go well in Penang, I still managed to enjoy myself because of the food! I've definitely heard rave reviews about Penang food, but having tasted just a fraction of the great food there, I'm hooked! Am definitely planning another (longer) trip to Penang and sampling more yummy food soon! Special thanks to Yen for bringing me around the island...she knows the best hawker foods in Penang, I tells ya! Don't believe me? Prepare to be salivating at the end of it all! *wink*

Arrived in Penang at around 9.30pm after a nice bus ride...we were picked up by Keong, a good friend of Yen's and subsequently headed out for supper at her Mom's place! FYI, Yen's Mom runs a food stall that sells the yummiest Loh Mee that I've tasted so far! Her stall is at Lorong Pulau Tikus for all the Penangites out there! Thick, savoury gravy topped off with sides like egg, pork and the likes; and add a dash of chilli sauce...it's almost like heaven!! (I bought a few packs back to KL for my parents to try, and they said the same thing!)

DAY 3:

We also ordered this yummy toasted bread with the satay! Imagine big pieces of traditional Kopitiam bread toasted on charcoal, and then spread with the yummy goodness of coconut milk and Kunyit!

Robert Pattinson, the ever-so-famous guy who immortalized (literally) Edward Cullen in the overly-hyped 'Twilight' series, returns with a more sombre offering that is "Remember Me". 

"What's the premise of the story?", you may ask. Robert Pattinson plays Tyler, a guy who has recently lost his brother to suicide. He blames his overbearing, yet highly successful father (played by Pierce Brosnan) for his brother's death. Tyler turns to all sorts of things to 'numb his pain', eg: smoking to no end, drinking like there's no tomorrow and getting into bar fights just because he wants to. After a certain incident though, he meets with Ally (played by "Lost" star, Emillie De Ravin). Ally also shares a similar loss, but she chose a different side to coping with the pain. Together though, they forge a bond and as with all stories, you know what's the inevitable result. *wink* 

Although it's KIND of like a love story, but the underlying point of coping with loss is always there, which mostly gives the film a bit of a downer tone. Still, the chemistry between the two leads are quite nice to watch. At least it's much better than the "I'm ever so broody and hungry for Bella that I can die" Edward and "I'm so stoned all the time I can't afford better expressions" Bella relationship. *wink* Tyler is still broody, but at least we know WHY he is brooding most of the time...and it's quite nice to see a different side of him too, especially when he is with his younger sister Caroline (played by the cute Ruby Jerins).

Kudos should be given to Emilie De Ravin for her portrayal of Ally. She is SO different from her "Lost" character, which I loved...and manages to even out Robert's broodiness with her take on life and moving on. I especially liked Ruby Jerins' turn as Caroline. Also herself losing a brother, Caroline is somewhat wise beyond her years, turning to art as an expression (and a darn good one at that). But she was also picked on by her peers who really didn't understand her. The sort of climax to her side of the story is both shocking and sad to see that even kids can be as mean as the adults.

There is a little twist to the end of the film...not quite sure why it was done that way, but it's a bit weird to bring in a sort of political statement just at the end. Didn't have that much of an impact; I guess it's aimed more towards the people in the US more, as it hits closer to home. It would have been nice though if they had just expanded the relationship between the characters...the estranged relationship between father-and-son (so not very convincing, even though Pierce Brosnan and Robert Pattinson look KIND of alike, but that's about it) after the final 'confrontation' bit hit hard, but then it just sort of dissipated after the twist, which made me go 'Huh??'

Listening in to some of the comments by the moviegoers after the film ended, most were obviously not there to watch the story. Seeing that it was almost a full house (with giggly girls) even with its limited sessions, it's not hard to guess what (or rather WHO) was the main attraction to the movie. As the camera focuses on you-know-who, you can literally hear sighs going around the theatre. *rolls eyes* Okay, I can see why girls fall to pieces when they see him, but the hype is just that. Hype. Yes, he has good acting chops apart from the Edward Cullen expressions, but err...again, I just didn't get it. Oh well..*shrugs*

A word of caution if you were to catch this in Malaysian cinemas: for SOME reason, the Censorship Board has decided to go 'snip-happy' in cutting out scenes just because they like it, and it's not a pretty picture. Granted, there were some 'scenes' in the movie, but other than that, their attempt at cutting out the HBO words were an epic failure. Even though you can see that it's cut (from the visuals), but you can still HEAR it! *rolls eyes* Overall though, still quite a nice movie...give it a go for the story.

So, what's the story about? Theo and Rachel are fraternal twins who share a special, 'psychic' bond with each other. But things changed after a tragedy and Theo's relationship with Rachel began to drift apart. They stayed with their uncle and aunt (in one of the most fancy houses I've ever seen...one would think that New Zealanders are super rich!) for the holidays, and found strange things happening whilst they're there; among them, meeting a mysterious Mr Jones, who tells them that Earth is being invaded by aliens (he himself is one! *gasp* *rolls eyes*) and only THEY can stop them with some special weapon invented by his race...

This movie was adapted from a book which was written by Maurice Gee, a famous New Zealand author. I seriously hope his book wasn't as bad as the movie, coz if it was, then it's saying something about the kind of books New Zealanders read, right? No offense to New Zealand and its people...I'm sure there are great movies out there made by NZ, but for this particular one, it's a thumbs down mostly. Sorry!

 

This was claypot venison cooked with potatoes and onions. Nothing much to shout about..I thought it would be great, but it wasn't, sadly =(

Overall, it was quite a nice experience. Most of the dishes we ordered were quite tasty. Although there were a few misses, we still liked it a lot. Mom was already thinking of going back there again next time we dine out...and that says a lot as Mom is quite picky when it comes to food. Heh! Price-wise, it's not too bad either. On average, I think we spent about RM70-RM80 for our family of 5-6, with orders of 4-5 dishes. Not bad!