Snacks from around the World

I feel privileged indeed to have sampled these snacks from around the world, many of which were the result of gifts, mostly from my next-door neighbour while some were from families' and friends' travels for work or pleasure.  Let me share with you just some of them.

#1 - Godiva Assorted Chocolates


The best gifts to receive are chocolates...hee..hee, don't you think?  And what's even better....if they're from the world's finest chocolatier in Belgium, Godiva chocolates...kekeke! ;)


This indulgent Godiva assortment features 3 types of chocolate...milk, dark and white chocolate.  They all look too pretty to eat.


Each box comes with 3 layers and each layer features one white chocolate, 3 dark chocolate and 5 milk chocolate varieties.  All were fantastic but if I had to choose a favourite, it'd be the dark chocolate variety.

#2 - THINaddictives Cranberry Almond Thin Cookies

This made-in-Canada almond thin cookies are conveniently packed in individual packets that can be eaten on the go.  Their advertising slogan of....so thin (they were quite thin cookies), soo crunchy (they weren't very crunchy) and sooo addictive (nope, not addictive at all).


In fact, the cookies were, to put it mildly, not to my liking at all.  They actually taste quite horrible to be honest + I don't really like almonds to begin with.

#3 - Scallop Snack

My hairdresser gave me two little snacks to try that she got from her vacation to Japan.  One, believe it or not, is some kind of dried mini scallops.


What...they even make a snack out of scallops?  Trust the Japanese to come up with snacks of any kind.  The scallops tasted like rehydrated dried cuttlefish unfortunately, so it was both fishy and chewy. >_<

#4 - Yubari Melon Steam Cake


The other snack was this individually wrapped bite-sized yubari melon steam cake.


It had a distinctive fruity aroma (of yubari melon I'm assuming) when opened.  I wouldn't know as I've never eaten a yubari melon before since they're beyond affordability.  I loved the zesty taste of the steamed cake with a texture like a light sponge and a creamy filling that tasted equally fruity.  Since a yubari melon is such a premium cantaloupe with a premium price tag, I don't really expect this to be from the real fruit....haha! ;D  So, could this be just yubari melon-flavoured essence?

#5 - Kirkland Dry Roasted Almonds


Again....almonds...oh no!  Great if I'm one who bakes cakes and cookies but I'm not.  It's such a big bag (over a kilo), I definitely had to give it away coz of all the nuts, I like almonds the least.

#6 - Maltesers Chocolate

From Australia comes these crisp malt centres covered with a layer of smooth milk chocolate that's a favourite of many.

#7 - Austin Toasty Crackers with Peanut Butter


First of all, the convenience of the crackers coming in individual packets means one can choose to eat how many packets one wants at one time without the need to store the balance in a container.


I liked that these Austin (Texas) toasty crackers, with a slight hint of saltiness, were crisp and had a smooth and not too sweet peanut butter sandwiched between them.  Makes a nice snack with a cup of coffee in hand.

#8 - Kee Wah (Winter Melon) Wife Cakes or Lo Por Paeng

I'd say this is right at the top of the list of best things I've ever been gifted coz these winter melon cakes are down right delicious! ^o^  How can it not be...from such an established name like Kee Wah since 1938.  I first tasted this when my neighbours gifted me a box...the best ones I've had.

I then recommended it to my sister-in-law when she was scheduled to visit Hong Kong.  She gifted me a box (of course)....and regretted she only bought one box for her own consumption as her husband found it to be really good too.  If you find yourself in Hong Kong, you must get this...for yourself or as gifts.

#9 - Moser Roth Chocolates


How about Moser Roth, a German brand of chocolates (since 1902), of the finest milk chocolate with pistachios and dark chocolate with fruity cranberry.  Unfortunately, my spouse doesn't like any nuts (or fillings) in his chocolates.  He has simple tastes and loves just plain milk chocolate as it is.

#10 - Bombay Mix


This chanachur mixture from Bangladesh is very much similar to our local Indian snack of mix nuts and flour crisps but pales in comparison in terms of taste.  In fact, the ones made by our local Indians taste loads, loads better.

#11 - Potato Farm Jaga Pokkuru


These premium potato fries from 100% Hokkaido-grown potatoes are awesome with a concentrated potato flavour.  Perfect snack for a couch potato, no?

#12 - Mama Instant Tom Yum Noodles


This is a famous brand of instant noodles from Thailand.  I tried only one packet and found the noodles not to my liking at all.  In fact, it tasted pretty horrible which was kinda a surprise to me since I like to eat Mama's brand of instant meehoon that's available from our local supermarkets here.

#13 - Godiva Assorted Dessert Truffles


Come in 3 flavours of Creme Brulee (brown truffle), Chocolate Lava Cake (purple truffle) and Strawberry Cheesecake (pink truffle).  Love the gold/silver foil sweets-like wrapping...so classy.  My favourite...the purple truffle! ^.^

#14 - Nature's Garden Omega-3 Deluxe Mix Nuts


With a sticker that says "heart healthy", it's a prelude to what to expect.  Anything that's good for us, one can expect less in the flavour department.  Raw and unsalted, I wasn't expecting it to taste that terrible.


Maybe it's just me...I can't 'stomach' raw nuts (there were almonds, walnuts, pecans, pistachios, pepitas & sunflower seeds).  The only thing I did enjoy were the dried cranberries.  If only I know how to bake cakes, it would be a way to make use of these raw nuts. ^_~

#15 - T K Food Salty Yolk Cookies


These individually packaged salty yolk cookies are from Taiwan.  Unfortunately, it tasted just like any normal cookie (but a decent tasting one at that) as the salted egg taste was almost non-existent.

I share or give most of the snacks away (though not all ^_*) as I can't finish them by myself (I'm not a great snacker, the snacker in my family is actually my husband) but I make sure I sample at least one just to know what it tastes like.

So, thank you to all my 'snack givers'.....and this is just part one! ^_~

Another Furball Came Calling

Guess who came calling recently? ;)

This little furball :)


Yes, yet another furry friend.  What can I say...I'm a "cat magnet"!

Remember this other furball not too long ago...Sniffles who have found a forever home?

Well, the story goes like this...I've been noticing this stray cat, who herself is only slightly bigger than a kitten, in our neighbourhood for quite some time.

Then, one day, I saw this little fluffball tagging along with the female cat.  The young mama cat must have given birth and took refuge in one of the houses across the street.  Since there's only one little kitty, I guess the rest of her litter didn't survive.

Seeing that she's a stray and having a youngling to care for, yours truly started to feed them both knowing that the mama cat will need food and nourishment if she is to produce milk for her baby.

Initially, they were scared little cats and I had to leave the food (across the street) and walk away before they even dare venture out from where they were hiding to eat.

Slowly, I enticed them to come nearer (to my side of the street) for the food.

Little by little, I gained their trust.  Now all I have to do is to call out to them and they will gingerly walk towards me from across the street.

I don't feed them directly in front of my house as I don't want them to spook Cookie when they become more daring (or at ease with me) and decide to venture into my compound.

They're still a little apprehensive and will bolt when they hear a noise or as soon as I make a movement.


But, over time, they've gotten a little more used to me....at least the kitten did who is more trusting and oblivious to any danger, of course.


He's so trusting that he can even go to sleep with me around now...lol! ;)  Yes, it's another boy-boy again...I checked and saw some puny balls!


He has also gotten a little playful with me.  He can have a really good time with me just waving a twig at him.


The mama cat, watching from a distance, also wants to get in on the action.  But since she's not as trusting, the only fun she can have is with her offspring.  When they play together, no-one will think this is mother and son, more like siblings since the mama is almost the same size.


This young mama behaves like a kitten herself.  She is, after all, a first time mother.  She's still young at heart...and wants to have fun (I guess she became a mom too soon...haha!).  Come to think of it, I've not seen the baby suckling the mother...perhaps this first time mom is a bit inexperienced.


Looks like not feeding them in front of my house was a futile attempt to deter them from coming into my compound.


Coz they did anyway....and made themselves right at home.


I seem to attract "males" all the time.  I hope I'm not feeding a kitten who will grow up one day and attack my Cookie! >_<


But I just can't stand by and watch...and not help/feed this cute little stray to give him at least a fighting chance of surviving till adulthood.  Sadly, just two days ago, I spotted the kitten carrying an injury in his hind leg.  Poor kitty, a cat must have bitten him.  I've not seen him for the last two days.  Hopefully, he's just nursing his injury...somewhere. :'(

O & S Restaurant (Kuey Teow Th'ng) @ Paramount Garden

O & S Restaurant @ Paramount Garden continues to be one of our favourite coffee shops for breakfast in the mornings when we happen to be in the area.  

We obviously love the variety of food offered here, after all, the place has spanned four blogposts from me in the past (you can read them here...one, two, three and four).

But I stumbled upon an old blogpost of kyspeaks which recommended an authentic kuey teow th'ng (that comes with pork innards) at this place that brought me here in my last visit (or shall I say last two visits).

In my first visit, I pandai-pandai ordered kuey teow th'ng and got this indeed....aiks, this looks like the usual Penang kuey teow th'ng I've had at other places with shredded chicken, fish balls and slices of fish cake. Where are the innards?  Did I not order this correctly?  Is there another type of Penang kuey teow th'ng I do not know about?

That aside, I did enjoy this bowl of kuey teow th'ng nonetheless.  The soup base was clear and subtlely tasty.  I loved the immensely fresh fried pork lard and garlic bits sprinkled on top.

Since I didn't get the right kuey teow th'ng, I had to come a second time but I still didn't know how to order the kuey teow th'ng I wanted, so I made sure I pointed to the innards and told them I wanted that.  This time I got it right and my bowl of Penang Kuey Teow Th'ng (innards and all) @ RM7.50 arrived with my seal of approval.

This one had the usual shredded chicken, fish balls and fish cake but also the uncommon pork intestines and coagulated blood cubes not often found in kuey teow th'ng in KL with some crispy pork lard.  I love intestines (and these were really tender and soft to the bite) but can't say I share the same enthusiasm for coagulated blood (this one, however, was quite nicely done without any fishy smell unlike some I've eaten before).  I wish there was a fresh chilli dip (like those offered with chee chap tong) to eat the blood cubes with.

The clear soup was good (like before) and the kuey teow was smooth and slippery (like those of a good Ipoh kuey teow).  Those who enjoy a good soupy noodle will approve of this one...with or without the innards (your choice).  Just remember to ask specifically for the innards if you want them...coz I'm still unsure how to order this correctly! >_<

On the way out, I stopped by at my favourite bak chang stall.  Shucks....my favourite Cantonese chung from here has gone up in price.  It's now priced @ RM6.50 in 2019.

My Personal Opinion

I don't think I've come across any kuey teow th'ng in KL that offers pork intestines and coagulated blood as an option.  I've only had it with shredded chicken, fish balls and fish cake so far.  I read that this is an authentic version of Penang kuey teow th'ng though there's also another version that comes with duck meat and duck blood too it seems.

If you like a good kuey teow soup, this is a contender.....innards or not! ^.^

O & S Restaurant
39 Jalan 20/14
Paramount Garden
46300 Petaling Jaya
Selangor