Directions:
1. Mix all ingredients in a mixing bowl to make a smooth dough. Next, divide dough into golf-ball-size pieces. On a smooth surface, knead individual dough pieces.
2. Smooth on some ghee on dough, using hands. Place dough balls into bowl and cover with a damp cloth. Leave for 8 hours or overnight at room temperature.
3. To cook, roll out each dough ball on a lightly floured surface, as thin as possible. Roll up rough. By holding the roll vertically, flatten it down to make a circle. Spread ghee on dough generously.
4. On a heated, greased pan, fry both sides until golden brown. Serve roti with curry and/or dhal.

Located at the corner of Prospect and Symthe (at the Fredericton Dental Centre), Saigon Noodle House surely has its advantage to attract clientele from nearby businesses and passers-by. The restaurant opens 7 days a week for lunch & supper, offering a wide variety of Vietnamese and Thai cuisine at an affordable price. It’s a franchise restaurant; there’s one in Saint John and another one in Moncton.

“Please wait to be seated.”

The restaurant’s dine-in menu. Take-out menu is available too.

Rice paper roll with tofu, with sweet fish sauce as dipping sauce. $5.99.

Rare beef pho (noodle soup). One of the best clear broths I’ve had! $9.99.

Lemongrass shrimp with rice, served with crispy spring roll, side salad, fragrance rice (molded in star shape), and soup. $14.99.

There was a promotional discount of 15% for their grand opening, with complimentary jasmine tea and mint ice-cream for dessert. Overall, it was a great experience. It’s highly recommended to anyone who enjoys or would like to try out some delicious Vietnamese food in town.

Anything that I’d really want to pick on? More bean sprouts in the noodle soup will be great. I also noticed that mint leaves were left out. I’d actually prefer a separate plate of bean sprouts, cilantro, and mint leaves to go with noodle soup. That way, I can add the desired amount of veg into the soup. This seems to be the way that most Vietnamese restaurants will present their pho dishes. Preference of serving size will be greatly appreciated too, e.g. small, medium, large. I won’t complain about the generous serving size of pho, but given a choice, I’d have opted for a smaller portion to avoid wastage.

The only complain that Miles had for his dish was that  it could be spicier!

Address: 1012 Prospect St, Fredericton

Reservation no: 506-206-3494

On the good side, family and friends, delicious food, familiar environment, laughter etc. surely beat the busy traveling plans and extreme climate change.

During the period of silence (e.g. no new posts on the blog), I felt like I needed another vacation for my vacation, a down time after all the excitements, high-tempo daily activities, traveling etc.

One of the many exciting trips that I went on was visiting the rice paddy field in Sekinchan, a small town located in northern part of Selangor state. Sekinchan is famous for its rice farming community; it’s one of the major rice producers in the country.

It was harvesting season in December.

A close look at the paddy. Every grain of rice is preciously produced.

Rice harvester in action at the paddy field. Crop harvesting can only be done on non-rainy days.

These days, we don’t expect farmers to do planting and harvesting in the old fashion way; bending down in the muddy field under the scorching hot sun. Instead, rice harvesters are commonly used nowadays. The rice harvester was important from Holland; modified from a used wheat harvester. Why go through all those troubles? It brings down the cost of the machine by multiple folds! Hundreds of thousands (in Malaysian currency) for the modified wheat machine harvester, instead of millions for a brand new machine.

Typically, June and December are the two harvesting months. There could be up to 3 times a year for harvesting; each season (from planting till harvesting) lasts about 120 days.

Miles was trying out the rice harvester.

It’d had been a beautiful sunset, too bad that it was overcast that day. I’ve always wanted to enjoy a beautiful sunset; the ones in Kota Kinabalu (east Malaysia) were the best thus far. Clouds were in the way that day, blocking the striking rays of sunshine. Another day, another time, I’m still not giving up hope on a spectacular sunset some day.

I liked the one on the front left. He was quite a character ;)

In Canada, however, there’s no fresh Asian baked goods in small cities. In order to satisfy and taste buds and fulfill my cravings, I have to do something….I have to make buns on my own from scratch! Sausage buns, sweet buns with red bean paste, Polo buns, Mexican buns etc., I love them all :)

The tropical decor reminded me a lot about tropical countries such as Malaysia. Miles and I went to this restaurant during lunch hour and enjoyed their lunch entree. It was a pleasant experience. We had the choice of mild or spicy for our food. Needless to say, we opted for spicy! Miles who used to take Canadian spicy has improved on his tolerance for spicy food dramatically by getting used to savouring the authentic hot & spicy Asian food ;)

Miles ordered this “Trini-Curry-Wrap up Roti (Indian flat bread).” A choice of chicken or tofu in cashew curry sauce with chickpeas and vegetables, wrapped in roti and served with garden salad tossed with in-house mango vinaigrette.

I had the “Twist of Jamaica.” Crusty Pastry filled with seasoned ground beef and Tandoori onion rings, drizzled in sweet chili sauce.

Toblerone chocolates come in white, milk, or dark chocolates. Take your pick!

Too small of a piece? How about turning this chocolate bar 45 times larger?

A Toblerone chocolate bar that weighs 4.5 kg! It’s 45 times heavier than the regular 100g chocolate bar. It’s humongous!

Good news to the Toblerone chocolate fans out there. Your chocolate supply for the year! :P

We had joy
We had fun
We had seasons in the snow
But the snow that we played
was just never last too long

* Modified from “Season In The Sun” by Westlife.

The womanized “Winnie the Pooh.”

The cute snowman blushed as being kissed on both cheeks.

Snowman is dressed in his manly black hat and a red scarf.

Snowwoman is dressed in a girly pinky scarf, with a purple and pink hat.

Advent (adventus in Latin meaning “coming”), is observed in many Christian churches during the preparation for Christmas celebration. A practice introduced by the German Lutherans, the Advent calendar starts on the fourth Sunday before Christmas. An Advent wreath has five candles; candles will be lit one at a time on a Sunday during the Advent season, and the central candle is not lit till Christmas Day. 

First Candle: The Candle of Prophecy/Hope
Second Candle: The Candle of the Way
Third Candle: The Candle of Joy
Fourth Candle: The Candle of Peace
Fifth Candle: The Christ Candle/Christmas Candle

In the commercial world, Advent calendar is widely available. It’s fun for young kids. There’s a piece of chocolate underneath each window with date printed on it. It’s a surprise everyday; pop open the window to receive a treat as Christmas Day approaches. A “big kid” like me is having fun with it :)

The celebration of 142th Canada Day came to an end before midnight.

I’m amused by the identical weather on Canada Day for the third year in a row (at least); overcast during the day, and some rain during or after the parade which usually starts at 4 p.m. I couldn’t help but thinking: Is it coincidental or being planned for? Even though it wasn’t a hot sunny day, I was contented with the cool and dry weather.

Canada Day celebration kicked off  in downtown Fredericton at noon with the “Civic Pride Block Party,” which also known as Canada’s largest Block Party. Meanwhile, the Royal Canadian Artillery School presented the “Twenty-one Gun Salute” (deployed from the Carleton Park). The opening ceremony took place at the Officer’s Square downtown, at 2 p.m. The public was invited to participate in the singing of national anthem “O Canada” and cake cutting ceremony.

Canada Day Cake Cutting Ceremony.

The Officer’s Square.

Across from the street, there were food vendors with their food stands set up by the riverfront. Besides that, fun rides for the kids and game stalls can be found there too.

Mini Ferris Wheel for kids.

Hmm…cotton candy? Popcorn?

The game stall.

The riverfront at downtown Fredericton.

Canada Day tattoos!

A little kid on a big truck.

Personally, I prefer a pot of clear stock (chicken or pork) and a pot of hot & spicy stock. Once the stock is boiling, uncooked food is ready to go. It takes about 15 minutes to cook. Everyone sitting around the table is welcome to help themselves with the food and stock. As soon as all the food is served, more stock is added into the pot. Another round of cooking begins, as the stock boils.

The origin of Asian hot pot tradition is claimed to be in the Mongolia region. Although, some argue that it’s from the Szechuan province of China. Hot pot is best to have in the cold weather! The hot soups soothe the stomach, and spices tantalize taste buds!

 A table that was full of food….

 From left (clockwise): Thin-sliced beef, smoked cow tongue, and tofu.

 Meat balls, fish balls, fish cakes… Yumm….

Desserts (from left to right): Triple chocolate cake, tiramisu, chocolate mousse, and strawberry cheesecake. The triple chocolate cake was the best!

What’s new on the doughnut shelf?

Key Lime Doughnut!

The “Roll Up The Rim To Win” contest is coming to an end. In the city of Fredericton, there is no more Tim Hortons’ rims to be rolled up! *Sigh*Each chain restaurant is given a limited number of “Roll Up” cups. The contest goes on until all the cups are gone.

What have I gotten so far? One free coffee, three free doughnuts, and lots of “Please Play Again” messages.

Three winners’ cups and one loser’s cup.

Some fun facts about the contest? Customers of Tim Hortons have been RRRolling up the Rim for 23 years. Over 88% of the major prizes were redeemed in 2008. On average, each Canadian adult would have rolled up 10 cups at the end of the contest each year. It’s a contest that everyone would enjoy! It’s more than just sipping on a cup of hot beverage; rolling up the cup as you take the very last sip of drink is a lot of fun!