#FoodFriday Lactose-less milk in Peru

Did you know that you can suddenly get lactose intolerance even though you were OK with dairy products for the longest time?

That happened to my friend D. She was the biggest fan of dairy (Milk! Cheese! Cakes! Milk tea!) so she’s now missing out on a lot of her favorite food.

That’s why I instantly thought of D when I saw lactose-less milk in an Arequipa supermarket. I even snuck a photo on my phone.

Even though there’s high lactose intolerance among Asians, I’ve not seen such a product in my life. I wonder if there’s a market for it in high-income countries such as Singapore and Japan. (Please do steal my business idea.)

0% lactose milk taste test

The lactose-less milk was available in a 1 liter plastic bag or in small boxes. I bought the 400g box because I don’t think I was able to finish a liter in a week.

0% lactose*
Evaporated milk
Zero discomfort, easy to digest
400g

I then discovered that the box was actually evaporated milk and not whole milk. Oh well, I can add it into my coffee in the morning. (I also added equal parts of water to the milk to make it whole milk.)

Color of lactose-less evaporate milk is the same as regular evaporated milk. I was expecting something paler.

One morning, I used the lactose-less milk in my coffee instead of the regular milk the hostel provides.

Surprisingly, it tasted the same!

Kopi C suitable for the lactose intolerants

I also made a submarino with the lactose less milk. (The how-to will I’m glad to report that the submarino did not cause “symptoms of lactose intolerance”.

Someone really should start a lactose-less milk business in Singapore.

More from the lactose-less milk box

On left:

0% lactose*

Address bla bla bla

Ingredients: Low fat milk, Vitamins (A, C and D), stabilizers (E-399, E-407) and lactase enzyme

*(LDD) Detection limit 0.01g/ml

Suitable for celiacs

100% cow milk, low fat, ultra pasturized and homogenized

Would you invest in my lactose-free milk business?

#FoodFri The best drink in Turkey

Welcome to YQtravelling’s FoodFriday. The day of the week when I show off some of the lovely eats I had while travelling.

Today we’re sipping some unique tea in Turkey.

When I was in Turkey, my most memorable drink was apple tea. The drink is served in a small traditional glass and is usually pale yellow in color although there are florescent green ones too.

At first I tried to guess how they make apple tea. Do they boil the apples and serve the liquid or do they first dry the apples and then boil them?

I had guessed that real apples were involved because I sometimes see bits of solid things inside.

Then one day, at one of the hostels, mom and I discovered that apple tea is made from powder. Just add hot water to taste.

At the weekly markets in Ephesus, mom bargained with a tea powder seller and bought half a kilo of apple tea solution.

However, I was more interested in the “Sex Tea”.

PS Apple tea seemed more like a tourist-thing than a local-thing. Locals drinks loads of black tea.

Do you know any drinks from Turkey?

#FoodFriday Piscola in Chile

Welcome to YQtravelling’s FoodFriday–the day of the week when I show off some of the lovely eats I had while travelling.

Today’s post is not a food but a drink. Salud!

I used to be allergic to alcohol. I would break out in angry rashes whenever I drink wine or anything with more than 5% alcohol.

However, I treated this allergy by introducing a bit of wine into my body slowly. Now, I don’t break out when I drink glasses of sparkling wine but I still cannot drink too much alcohol.

Piscola--Pisco and coke — Piscola–Pisco and coke

While I do not drink during meals, I discovered the very delicious Piscola (pisco with Coca Cola) which I do not mind having with my food.

I’ve heard alcohol drinkers call this combination “like rum with Coke”. I don’t know what rum tastes like so I’ll take their word for it.

Besides Piscola, I like Pisco Sour a lot. It’s pisco with lemond and limes (some of my favorite fruits!) and egg white. It’s sour but sweet.

I always finish drinking it before I can take a photo. Drats.

What alcohol do you like to add Coca Cola with?

#FoodFriday Empanada in Buenos Aires

Welcome to YQtravelling’s FoodFriday–the day of the week when I show off some of the lovely eats I had while travelling.

Today we’re visiting Buenos Aires for some deep fried South American curry puffs.

I have been talking about empanadas for far too many times without showing you what it actually is.

For those of you in Malaysia and Singapore, I imagine a curry puff that is 2 times bigger than the regular puff you have. Now imagine that the skin is not rock hard but baked to just the right texture.

Now imagine that this curry puff does not have lame potatos but meat with a few vegetables. Take a bite of your imaginary curry puff and you have just eaten an empanada.

Food for the eyes

By the way, the guy who’s in charge of the empanada area at the restaurant downstairs looks very much like Thomas in Downton Abbey but with green eyes.

However, take my words with a pinch of salt. A schoolmate indignantly told me that the guy DOES NOT look like Thomas.

Well, he looks like a chubbier version of Thomas. Who can blame him, with all these yummy empanadas around.

Have you ever had an empanada? What’s your favorite filling?

#FoodFriday: The many rice and curries of Sri Lanka

[I know it’s Saturday now (and probably Sunday where you live), but I had mild heatstroke on Friday so the post is only up now. Bon apetit!]

When I first heard of Sri Lanka’s rice and curry, I thought it was a plate of rice accompanied by a bowl of thick curry (like Chinese curries in Malaysia).

Even after looking at pictures of rice and curry online, I still had the same old impression.

So I was kind of surprised when I was served my first rice and curry at a hotel (a “simple restaurant” in Sri Lanka, not the usual definition of hotel) next to Colombo Fort train station. It looked very much like a regular rice and side dishes served at Chinese places back in Singapore and Malaysia.

The vegetarian rice and curry I had in Colombo had a huge heap of rice with four sides: chickpeas, fibrous vegetable, dhaal and another veggie.

The rice was not the usual Thai rice I have back home, but small barley-like grain that were round and fun to chew. (Later I found out that other rice were also used in different places.)

The best rice and curry I had was in Anuradhapura. It’s a small shop called “Highland Cold Spot” (or is it Cold Station) that gets its packets of rice and curry from another vendor. The best part about the place was that the rice and curry along with a glass of papaya juice cost only 160 rupees (~S$1.60).

Other rice and I curries I have cost less than 250 rupees and every one of them had too much rice. I wonder how the locals manage to keep all that rice in their stomachs. I usually can’t move after having one. (Maybe because I also drink while I eat and this expands my stomach by a lot.)

Ii’ve made it a point to have one rice and curry dish each day but I have a feeling I have had too much of it and my stomach does not want any more.

While we’re at the topic of food, I am ashamed to say that I have not tried a hopper yet. Uh oh… It’s just that I’ve only seen pre-made hoppers at a food counter and that didn’t look too appealing.

Anyone knows where I can get hoppers in Colombo or Kandy?

What other food should I eat in Sri Lanka?

#FoodFriday Samsui Ginger Chicken in Singapore

My favorite meat is chicken so I want to introduce a chicken dish for today’s Food Friday: Samsui Ginger Chicken.

The chicken is served cold (versus steaming hot). You can wrap the chicken inside a sheet of cabbage, dip it into ginger sauce before eating it. (I would prefer inhaling the whole large plate of chicken.)

The chicken is slightly oily but very soft. The chicken skin melts in your mouth too.

Samsui Ginger Chicken from Singapore's Soup Restaurant — Samsui Ginger Chicken from Singapore’s Soup Restaurant

Soup Restaurant explains what is Samsui Ginger Chicken:

A traditional Samsui dish consumed by the Samsui women in Chinatown. Due to their low income, the Samsui Ginger Chicken was only consumed once a year, during the Chinese New Year. Chicken was steamed without much seasoning after which, dipped in ginger sauce before consumption. The ginger sauce is a fragrant and tasty compliment to the chicken. Ginger and sesame oil, as believed by the Chinese, removes excess wind from the body. You may wrap the chicken in lettuce to achieve that crunch when you bite into the popular Samsui Ginger Chicken.

I suspect this dish was an invention, and not really a Samsui dish. Or it could that the restaurant hyped up the dish.

The price of Samsui Ginger Chicken at Soup Restaurant is a little expensive for what is simply steamed chicken.

Do note that the Samsui women were real people in history and they played important role in the literal “building of Singapore”. The wiki for Samsui Women has a very good explanation of who they were.

#FoodFri The original Ya Kun Kaya Toast in Singapore

Ya Kun Kaya Toast is a famous chain for traditional toast and coffee in Singapore.

The food and drink there is alright but there are other places where you can get a cheaper deal.

One day D told me about the Ya Kun Kaya Toast branch at China Square. It’s supposed to be really retro (even more retro than the fake-retro which they have in other branches).

Another selling point for the China Square branch is that it’s run by the descendants of Ya Kun the man himself! OK, I’m sold.

The shop is rather difficult to find because China Square is in the middle of the CBD. Google Map’s not really that helpful because the buildings are too tall.

It was raining when we went in search of Ya Kun Kaya Toast. We managed to find it in the end without getting soaked.

Ya Kun Kaya Toast China Square branch deco

OK, the shop was quaint but only because we’re in Singapore.

The floors looked like they were scratched from chairs and tables.

The kitchen was sort of an open kitchen concept.

We ordered the usual Kaya Toast set which comes with two pieces of toast, coffee and two soft boiled eggs.

Mistaken for tourists

When we arrived, I was busy taking photos of the place. I even swirled on my stool to take a panorama shot of Ya Kun Kaya Toast.

When our food arrived, the lady who served us brought the soy sauce and pepper shakers to us. She ordered us to put the condiments onto the eggs and eat.

I think this is the first time I’m mistaken for a tourist in Singapore. I’ve been here 7 year already, lady!

We ate our food in peace. (Almost, we were instructed how to eat again.)

Later, I saw that the shop was selling petit cups as souvenirs. I took photos of them.

Then the lady swooped down with the TOURIST SET.

She looked at us expectantly before leaving us. I took a photo of the set before it was too late.

Have you been to the China Square branch of Ya Kun?

#FoodFri White coffee @ Ipoh

The best white coffee I ever had was in Ipoh.

The slightly burnt taste with a smooth evaporated milk finish…

Divine.

Find out more about Ipoh:

What to see: Among the ruins of Kellie’s Castle, Ipoh
Where to stay: Stay: Ipoh Tune Hotel review
What to eat: Glutton in Ipoh

Glutton in Pontian, Johor

The weekend trip to Pontian was short and sweet. My sister and I did not do much, which also meant that we did not eat much.

There’s not much formal travel information on Pontian (zero at the time of writing on Wikitravel) so we did a lot of Google searching about food and things to do.

Pontian Wanton Noodles

Since Pontian Wanton Noodles is famous in Singapore, I decided that we must eat wanton noodles in Pontian.

Unlike its name suggest, the wanton noodles is not promiscuous or cruel. Instead, it is a noodle dish served with little dumplings (wanton) which are fried or boiled.

We headed to Kedai Mee Heng Heng, a 15-minute walk away from the hotel. I was so hungry that I brought us into the coffeeshop next door.

I was rather puzzled why there was no wanton noodle. We were told that the dish was served next door. We thanked the people and sheepishly left the place.

Our noodles came really really slowly. We found out later that serving food at a slow pace is typical of Pontian town.

We ordered the black sauce noodles (instead of the sweet red sauce–ketchup–which feels urgh). The noodles were alright and the wantons too but nothing to shout about.

Football Field Restaurant seafood

Another highly-raved about place was the Football Field Restaurant which seemed like a long distance from our hotel on Google Maps. In reality, the route was quite quick.

We didn’t order crabs because they were priced at a crazy RM70 per kilo. I could have RM18/kg crabs in Sabah so I refused to order crabs.

We did have grilled flounder which was amazing, as usual. The chilli paste that came along didn’t spoil the sweet taste of its flesh. (I sound like a cannibal.)

yucky noodles

Mediocre noodle at mediocre Pontian noodle stall

We wanted to try food at the Market. However, we found outthat the market only opens in the evening and at nights. In the end, we headed to a row of shophouses and tried our luck at one of the coffeeshops.

We stood in the shop waiting for tables to clear. No one was leaving and food was served at the usual snail pace.

We switched to a roadside eatery instead. The food was very bland.

Tropical fruits

Not counting the fish, this was probably the highlight of Glutton in Pontian.

Our taxi driver stopped at a roadside fruitstall where we bought a bag of mangosteens and two humongous guavas. I finished my guava only on the second day, biting through it like a beaver with my front teeth.

As for the mangosteens, they were sweet and delicious. I had fun making a video about how to peel a mangosteen, check it out if you haven’t seen it.

Have you been to Pontian? What did you eat there?

Glutton in Sabah

I was home for the holidays and ate many yummy things (and some less yummy food). This post is divided by the locations I ate the dishes.

Bon appetit!

Durian. My family loves durians but I’m a little meh about it. However, this time when I was back, I have kind of fallen in love with its creamy custard texture.

Lamb chop. On the second day when I reached home, I had a craving for lamb chop so I requested my parents to bring me to our regular steak place.

Our seats were right next to the covered drain but we got wafts of drain smell floating around us. :<

The lamb chop was rather disappointing. The portion was large but the meat was so tough I felt like I was a grazing cow. My jaw hurt in the end.

Kota Belud kopitiam

Before my mom and I headed to Kudat, we stopped by a kopitiam in Kota Belud. We lunched with my dad and my parents’ friends and ordered things to share.

Fried bee hoon. A typical fried noodle dish, garnished with roast pork bits.

Pig blood curd yong tau foo. If you’ve not had blood curd (like bean curd but with animal blood), you might feel a bit queasy about it.

It’s actually really tasty. It doesn’t taste of blood. I can’t really describe the taste but it’s firmer than jelly.

Kudat seafood

Mom and I couldn’t find a nice place for seafood while we were in Kudat. In our car, we went about town.

Finally, we settled at one of the wooden houses at the sea. We happened to sit at the less popular restaurant. Oh well, food is food is food.

Crab. I’ve never had this sort of crab before. The usual crab I eat has a uniform color but this was patterned. Mom said it was a “flower crab”.

The meat wasn’t as firm as the usual crab I eat. But the good thing is that the shell is less tough and I can break off the shell easily to the crab meat.

(This crab was not eaten in Kudat.) Just to show you what the regular crab I eat looks like. I had this at restaurant near my home.

Steamed fish. Oh, how much I love fish steamed with soy sauce and ginger. The sauce goes well with rice.

Roadside fruit stall

On the way to and from Kudat, fruit stalls are scattered by the roadside.

They all sell the same seasonal fruits: BBQ corn, bananas, jackfruit, honey, rambutan.

BBQ corn. It’s interesting how they cook the corn. I usually eat steamed or boiled corn, never one roasted by fire.

However, our cobs of corn weren’t cooked enough.

Honey. Mom bought a bottle of dark honey (“Darker means older honey,” said the seller.) I haven’t tried it but the bottles look so pretty.

Bukit Padang stalls

Cha kway teow. Stir fried flat board noodles. The half-cooked cockles are known to cause mild food poisoning.

Cendol. Shaved ice, coconut milk, gula melaka (palm sugar) syrup, and green cendol. Enough said. It gave me brain freeze when I tried to eat it really fast.

Others

Hokkien noodle. I love this dark sauce thick noodles. And the fried pork fat. Mmmm.

Pearl milk tea. Or also known as “bubble tea” in Singapore. Black chewy tapioca drowned in milk tea.

YOYO’s the best pearl milk tea branch in Southeast Asia, according to me.

Cooling water, or what we call “rhino horn water”. I do not think the drink has actual bits of rhino calcium. But it was selling like hot cakes (if they were liquid and cool) at my parents’ store.

I learned from a customer that they use it to cool down after eating heaty durians.

Swiss roll. I bought this cake because I mistook it for another bakery’s milk cake. There’s custard in between.

Fish soup bee hoon. Sluuuuurp. (OK, I’m not that big a fan of pale fish.)

Pot luck! My mom and her friends had a pot luck on new year eve night. It was dinner after mahjong. Later we went to the beach for our ritual feet washing.

Tag: #foodfri