Breakfast At Sixth Half Coffee, Ipoh

CAFE-ING TIME in the morning when I woke up...

Went out at 9am to meet up with a stranger to see a house... no, no, I am not buying any property, I just went on behalf and took some videos and then sent to the person concerned.  Part time broker?  LOL.... I think it is not successful, I did not receive any feedback after sending out videos... failed mission!  No worries, there are always more coming, no need to be anxious.  

Then I went for breakfast with my friend, that is... actually the best part of the day!

We went to Sixth Half Coffee at the Canning Business Point for our breakfast.  First question upon entering... "Do you have a reservation?" No, we did not book, nevertheless we were ushered in to a table for 4 cos another friend would be joining us too.  We were gently reminded that the table we were sitting was actually reserved at 11am.... Good, we have an hour plus to tete-a-tete.... 

We ordered a simple breakfast.... 

Not sure what this is called....

Breakfast 428...

I was expecting a Continental breakfast... LOL...

No meat meal... 

Consists of mushroom, eggs, spinach and grated cheese....

Well, something new to me...

And it cost RM20.... 

Ordered a Tuna potato puff... RM8

Earl Grey comes together with the breakfast set....

My friend came just for a cup of coffee... 

Total cost RM35 for our breakfast!

Eating Out At Bandaraya And Bercham, Ipoh

BREAKING FREE.....  Thank God that Ipoh is free from any new cases for the past few days.  Hope it stays that way and our country will be Covid free in days to come and we can start to move around freely again.  I do not mind wearing masks or scanning MySejaterah from now on as long as I can go traveling again!  LOL...

Yesterday we had our breakfast at Bandaraya restaurant near Paragon Hotel.  It has been a year or so since we last had our food there.  The famous stall is the one selling Pan Mee but we did not order that for our breakfast.  Instead we ordered something simple and yet, it lasted me nearly the whole day after eating that.

Yes, the glutinous rice.... a big plate of it too... 

Of course, I shared, I couldn't finish such a big portion...

The whole set cost RM6.40 minus the coffee....

Around noon, we went out again....

I didn't really want to take lunch...

But after reaching this place here in Bercham, I forgot I was full.... 

A small stall selling the above menu plus some dishes here...

The dishes looked good to me....

Ended up with these.... 

And a piece of chicken.... 

Ice kacang for desserts....

And ended up buying back Laksa and a piece of fried fish... 

All in cost around RM20... 

My meal for the day is completed...

Reanaclaire Sharing Is Not Only Caring

My journey as an influencer/blogger have been a great and memorable one. I, of course, owe this to the audience and community who have been with me over the years. Their support, encouragement and engagement with my content have been the motivation for my work throughout this journey. The beginning of this journey is just a humble, small start. My interest in blogging was sparked in 2008, while looking at the blog of my son and discovering the community he built around it. I felt at that time, starting one for myself would have given me a great opportunity to share my stories, my thoughts, and engage with people all around the world. My expectations were definitely too high.

The beginning was a small audience consisting of my close friends and associates. Our medium of interaction grew, and deeper thoughts were able to be conveyed as more time were taken to construct our messages. Their feedback and comments also helped me improve my writing, helping me to engage them better through my writing style, and content. Content; the cornerstone of any media and my blog in particular; is something I cherish and love over the years. The quest for ever-changing, exciting content enabled me to experience a variety of new things, meet a ton of people and grow my community. The sprawl of specialty food items, and interesting travels that I have experienced were my greatest treasure. To then realize that a large audience was deeply invested and appreciated my journey empowered me further. It gave me a greater sense of purpose and belonging to be able to contribute positively to my community and audience.

The positive growth of my community over the years opened up more opportunities for me as a content creator. I was able to write about better experiences that I would otherwise have little to no opportunity to dive into. It allowed me to start building a better platform to sustain the costs of creating new content. I grew and learned a great deal, recommending experiences that I felt was worth the time and effort needed to reach them. This of course created a positive feedback cycle, with better content I could attract larger audiences and with the audience, I could bring better content.  Naturally through blog writing, I can get some token in compensation in terms of products and some small allowance which I am very contented with.

Ever since I retired from government service in 2015, I had been traveling to places, far and near, spending months in Scotland and California.  The last year and a half were nothing but challenging. I couldn’t travel anywhere to look for interesting experiences to write about.  My travels have come to a halt due to the pandemic of Covid-19 globally.  I miss my travels and I hope that this pandemic will be over soon.  Local businesses had to close their doors. Content that I am used to is simply not possible. However, it was also an opportunity for me. It was a chance for me to take a break from chasing for greater content to write about. 

I took this opportunity to look within, understanding what I wanted to share the most. I read about the journey of other people, understanding their motivations and drive to grow and share. I drew great inspiration from other platforms and opportunities. I looked to reinvent myself, contributing much more to the audience who really deserve much more than I am giving them.

I look forward to the rest of my journey in this humble space of mine.  The name of my blog Reanaclaire - Caring Is Not ONLY Sharing.  I hope my blog will be able to continue growing in the years to come. Every day is a beginning to learning something new!  

Japanese Dinner At Mokuren, Ipoh

MOKUREN...One of the best Japanese food I ever tasted in Ipoh, not a chain restaurant but solely owned by a couple, whom I heard is from Japan.  Not verified true or not, what I know is that their dishes are kind of special and different from the ones I have tasted.  Mokuren is just one shop lot, can only holds 25 customers at one time....*that was what I read last night at their door*

Since there are limited tables, customers have to call up to make reservations.  That was what I did, I called up around noon to book a table for dinner yesterday.  Table for 4 at 6.30pm and we arrived 5 minutes late, still acceptable...  A few diners were at the entrance but I guess they did not make reservation, they left. 

Stepping into Mokuren, one couldn't help feeling the cozy and homely ambiance and that was how I felt.  It has been several years since I last dined there, I think I will go more often cos the food there is not only nice and tasty, the prices are reasonable as well.  

For the four of us, we ordered the below dishes.... 

Did you notice anything different?

One piece did not have avocado, right?

Feeling curious, my friend asked the waiter, thinking that they have left out...

But no, he told us to flip it over... (terbalik)

and the avocado "appeared"....

LOL... 

\

There were many rolls to choose from and my friend chose "Four Seasons"

And when it came, my friend was astonished...

Oh oh... raw!

Raw or not, we finished them up.... 

Dipped more into the wasabi and sauce...

Till our eyes teared up... LOL... 

Teriyaki chicken...

Oh, there is one dish which missed my camera...

Beancurd!  

Aiyah, this auntie really!

Claypot Udon.... 

Beef Udon.... 

Both noodles were nice and tasty!

Garlic fried rice....

Saw the next table having Silver Cod fish....

And I wanted to have one too!

Highly recommended....RM46

The price is really justified...

There are 3 fresh cod pieces inside the claypot 

besides other condiments as well....

All to my liking...

I will surely order this again next time!

For the 4 of us, the bill came to around RM150plus...

All of us left Mokuren feeling happy and satisfied!!

The Main And The Side Orders Of Breakfast

ON TWO DIFFERENT MORNINGS... I went out with two different group of friends and to two different places which I have not been before.

One of my friends wanted to try out the Great Wall in town area, along Jalan Lau Ek Ching.  There are now two Great Walls in Ipoh besides the one in Beijing, of course.  LOL... In these two Great Walls in Ipoh, there are no steps to climb, they serve food and coffee instead.  

I am not a coffee lover, instead of coffee, I always ended up ordering barley or just plain water instead.  However my friends will order their fix for the day, Kopi C Kau (thick) or Kopi C Pok-Pok (dilute)... Coffee lovers will know what I mean! 

At the Great Wall along Lau Ek Ching Street... 

Our breakfast...

And I tried a bit of this and that.... 

Half of the Nasi Lemak....

A bit of curry noodles.... RM9.90

A bit of this to try out the kaya.... 

And one of these.... 

My breakfast is done!

This morning we came by here.... Bercham....

We ordered Fish Noodles.... 

Same orders for three of us... 

Taken from my friend's hp....

Three pieces of fish in each bowl.... 

Each bowl cost RM12...

I requested for less noodles...

While waiting, we had this Yam Pudding.... 

A bit sweet on the toppings.... 

Not sure exactly how much this cost... around RM3... 

And that was our breakfast for this morning.... 

I am FULL the day! 

Should You Cook Fresh For Your Pet?

Image credit.

In recent years there has been a rise of home-cooked food for cats and dogs. More and more pet owners are turning away from traditional packaged dog and cat foods and are instead preparing fresh meals for their pets that give them more of a varied, balanced and nutritious diet.

While this might sound great to some pet owners, and seem ludicrous to others, cooking for your pet does come with benefits - and disadvantages too. 

In this blog, we will go through some of the do’s and don’ts of cooking for your pet! Will you become a pet chef this year? Read on to find out!

The Do’s Of Cooking Fresh For Your Pet

1. DO research the specific dietary needs of your pet. 

One of the worst mistakes you can make is to under-research cooking fresh for your pet. All animals have dietary requirements that make them healthy and strong, and a dog or a cat’s requirements will be different to that of your human family. 

If you are thinking of cooking fresh for your pet, make sure you do extensive research on pet sites such as petness.com, and ask your vet about the right fresh diet for your pet.

2. DO find recipes from expert pet owners and vets.

At first, you might find it intimidating to cook for your pet, as you may not know exactly where to find the right ingredients or what to cook each day. Finding pet food recipes from your vet and from experts online will help ease you into the new routine of cooking fresh for your pet.

3. DO mix up fresh cooking and packaged food.

Most people think this is an either-or situation, but that isn’t the case. If you want to cook fresh for your pet, you don’t immediately need to ditch the dog food and start slaving away for hours in the kitchen. You can alternate meals between fresh and packaged - in fact, this is better for the pet, as it’ll ease their digestive system into the new type of food they’ll be eating.

The Don’ts Of Cooking Fresh For Your Pet

1. DON’T just feed them what you eat.

Dogs and cats have different nutritional needs than humans. Don’t just feed them what you are eating - this could be damaging, or even fatal, to their health. Your pet’s food needs to be prepared separately from the food you eat.

2. DON’T bite off more than you can chew. 

Cooking fresh for your pet is not a necessity - it’s a luxury. If you have the time and money to do so, that’s great, but don’t bite off more than you can chew with this task. Even if you feed them fresh pet recipes every once in a while, you can feed them good quality packaged food and feel assured they will be healthy.

Final Thoughts

If you are looking into cooking fresh for your pet, make sure you use this guide to help you get started with this positive change!

Homecooked Food At 130 Cafe, Ipoh

CAFE 130... That is what we used to call her when she invited us for dinner!

My friends and I love having dinner in her house cos she serves homecooked dishes most of the vegetables are homegrown as well.  We were invited to her home again few days ago and I did not particularly asked what dishes she was going to cook.  I just told her that I would be bringing one dish, a tiny dish.... LOL.... 

We reached her house around 5pm and everything was ready except for the bean sprouts which she was going to blanch as soon as we reached.  That is so thoughtful of her.... bean sprouts is best eaten while they are still fresh and hot.  As soon as she saw what my friend brought, she suddenly exclaimed... "Öh no, I forgot to cook rice!"   Fret not, fret not... I told her... we are not rice eaters nowadays and a big bowl of fried wanton noodles cooked by my friend, that is more than enough for the four of us!  LOL....

Good thing she did not remember to cook rice... 

Otherwise there would be leftover of either noodles or rice.... 

Fried meat balls... 
Minced meat, fish paste and ginger mixed.. 

Tasty dish!

Her homecooked BBQ Pork... aka Char Siew....

Very nicely done....

Soft and sweet pork belly.... 

My mini dish fried chicken... 

Fresh beansprouts garnished with garlic and oil.... 

Which is the most popular dish... 

Only the oil was left... LOL... 

What a scrumptious meal for the 4 of us!

Thank you Nancy for the yummy dinner!!

Irresistible Delights At August Healing Cafe, Ipoh

AUGUST HEALING...Yes, it is healing alright... healing my sweet tooth!  LOL.. 

I came across August Healing via Facebook, a food blogger by the name of Darren Talkie-Talk.  A friend recommended me to look through his Facebook pages and I think from today onwards, my waist will surely grow sideways!  The more I scrolled, the more salivating I become.... oh my goodness, I did not know Ipoh has so many new delights which I have not tried yet. Looking at those photos, I love to sink my teeth into all these sweet temptations which were staring back at me! LOL... 

Started off the day going to Tong Ki noodles in old town for breakfast, we had a light breakfast, knowing that we were going to have desserts after that!  From old town, we drove up to Theatre Street and looked for August Healing, No: 18A.... and it is just located one shop away from Aun Kheng Lim shop famous for their salted chicken.  

August Healing is on the first floor and we stepped into a nice, clean, quiet ambiance.  We were greeted by a lovely young lady and I did not waste any time choosing my order even before we were seated.  A very tough decision to make, all looks so tempting, but since I had already eaten my noodles awhile earlier, I had to settle for something lighter..... or so it seems.... 

August Healing... newly opened just a month ago.... 

The goodies awaiting for me to order....

Everything is covered.... good!

I would like to come back someday for these tempting croissants...

Three types of cakes were displayed...

Strawberry shortbread....

Black sesame cake...

Blueberry butter cheese cake....

After ordering, we sat near the window.... 

While waiting, two couples came...

I could not resist the Quiche...RM13

Potatoes, onions, chicken ham.... 

Served fresh and hot... 

I like this... Garlic and Honey scone.... RM6

Sweet and savoury.... 

Our second meal for the day before noon.... 

Total cost RM25 plus the tea....

And I did not leave as yet...

I have to bring home a piece of the Chocolate Sesame Cake...

That will be my dessert after tonight's dinner!