Streat Thai, Lotus's Cheras: Authentic Thai Street Food

Miss travelling overseas for food? Well, if you're craving for some authentic Thai street food, check out Streat Thai - with locations in Jaya One, Bangsar South, Lotus's Kepong and Lotus's Cheras. 

Earlier this week, we visited the latter and thoroughly enjoyed our dining experience there. A huge mural of a typical scene in Thailand with tuks tuks and a neon sign reading “sawasdee”, along with makeshift stalls greeted us upon arrival and transported us to the streets of Thailand. 

Start your meal here with an order of Streat Thai's signature fried chicken wings (RM13.90 for 3 pcs). The wings are marinated with lemon grass and kaffir lime leaves and coated in a light, crispy batter. So gooooood!

Back by popular demand is the Tom Yum Mama noodles, now available in single portions. You can have it with seafood, the signature chicken chop or homemade chicken balls - or go for the MAMA special, which comes with all three, if you can't decide! 

The springy noodles are served in Streat Thai's own creamy tom yum soup recipe, which was both fiery and appetizing. Mix in the raw egg yolk for an extra rich and creamy finish. We went for the Tom Yum Mama Special (RM20.90) which came with prawns and squid, three chunks of crispy fried chicken chop and two homemade chicken balls. 

If you’re a meat lover (like us!), then you should definitely try the Thai style BBQ Beef Striploin (RM49.90). The cuts are butchered in-house and then marinated with Thai herbs overnight for maximum flavour. Nicely cooked with a good sear, it was delicious eaten with the tamarind-based dipping sauce and sticky rice. 

One of the dishes I miss most when dining out is getting a whole steamed fish served piping hot to our table. The Steamed Seabass with Lime Sauce (RM48.90) was perfectly steamed, with its tender flesh and a well-balanced, tangy sauce. 

Stir fried kangkung with garlic (RM10.90)

Thai milk tea (RM5.90), Thai Green Milk Tea (RM6.90), Thai Milk Coffee (RM5.90)

For desserts, we had the Coconut Ice Cream with Sticky Rice (RM10.90); deliciously creamy ice cream topped with salty roasted peanuts. 

The Mango Sticky Rice (RM11.90) was a big hit; sweet juicy imported Thai water lily mangos served with pandan sticky rice and drizzled with thick coconut milk.

Red ruby with coconut milk (RM6.90), rainbow rubies made from tapioca, doused in sweet coconut milk.

Pork-free.

Opening hours: 11.30am-10pm.

Location: Streat Thai,  Unit G-30, No 2, Jalan Midah 2, Lotus's Cheras, Taman Midah, Cheras, 56000 Kuala Lumpur. (ample free parking available)

Tel: 012-5970 128

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ShopeeFood Is Now Available In Johor Bahru

After a successful launch in Klang Valley in 2021, ShopeeFood Malaysia is expanding its services to Johor Bahru. Shopee users can start ordering using ShopeeFood on the Shopee app from 24th February onwards. Deliveries will cover key areas in Johor such as Johor Bahru, Tampoi and Setia Tropika.

The new service will feature a range of international and local food merchants available in Johor Bahru. These include Mcdonald’s, Shake Shake, Old Town White Coffee, ZUS Coffee, Johnnys, Kenny Rogers Roasters, Oven & Fried Chicken, Soon Cafe, Banafee Village, Gatao Fried Chicken and Anmour Cafe.

Wong Chee Mun, Head of Business Development, ShopeeFood Malaysia said, “We are delighted with the positive response that we have received in Klang Valley and would like to bring the same convenience to Shopee users in Johor Bahru.”

“We hope that this new service will not only benefit users by offering more choices, but also encourage more food and beverage merchants to move online and reach out to more customers, driving long term growth in the digital age.”

In conjunction with the launch, from now until 28th February, ShopeeFood will be offering free deliveries and up to 40% discount on food and beverages with a minimum spend of RM5 when checking out with ShopeePay on the app.

Additionally from the 24th to 28th February, Johor users will be given exclusive access to the Order & Win contest. With just a minimum spend of RM20 on food orders, users stand a chance to walk away with exclusive KitchenAid products and ShopeeFood vouchers worth up to RM8,000.

ShopeeFood is also giving a special two-day offer to Johor users on the 24th and 25th February with 30% off on selected items from merchants such as ZUS Coffee, Shake Shake and Kenny Rogers.

From the 26th to 28th February, ShopeeFood will be offering 60% off limited time vouchers at 3pm with a minimum spend of RM15 on food and beverages.

Users will also get to experience deals and promotions happening for Shopee February 25 Payday Sale, taking place from 20th to 25th February 2022. During the monthly sale, users will be privy to free shipping with a minimum spend of RM5, RM25 deals on selected items from merchants and 25% Coins Cashback when they top-up prepaid, pay their bills as well as repayment of the National Higher Education Fund (PTPTN) when paid using ShopeePay.

For more information on ShopeeFood, visit https://shopee.com.my/m/shopeefood-jb.  

Terms and conditions apply.

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Malaysians Sought After Necessities during PayDay Sale

Shopee Malaysia data revealed that Malaysian consumers are turning to the e-commerce platform to get their necessities on a regular basis, especially face masks.

The conclusion came about when Shopee analysed its month end payday shopping trends to understand how Malaysians are spending their pay cheques and it goes to show Malaysians are now turning to Shopee to stock up on necessities.

The data, taken from month-end spending habits every month from June 2021 to January 2022 across its platform, revealed that Malaysians are spending their monthly salaries to fulfil their household needs. This is so as essentials such as MILO, instant noodles, biscuit, sambal, cereal, toilet rolls, diapers among others are consistently appearing in the top 20 most purchased items by shoppers across Malaysia.

The data also revealed one of the necessities sought after by Malaysians are face masks, which are the most popular items among shoppers from Kelantan, Pahang and Putrajaya. This is so as face masks of various brands made up to 11 out of 20 most purchased items by shoppers in these locations.

This is then followed by shoppers from Kedah, Melaka, Negeri Sembilan and Terengganu – face masks of various brands occupied 50 per cent of the top 20 most purchased items among these shoppers.

Conversely, shoppers from Kuala Lumpur and Penang placed face masks purchase on a lower priority – face masks of various brands occupied four and three spots respectively in the top 20 most purchased items among these shoppers.

On the other hand, mobile and fuel prepaid top up vouchers are gaining popularity among Shopee users as they embrace the convenience e-commerce offers.

Malaysian shoppers also took the opportunity to seek out other products during Shopee’s Payday Sale. Other popular categories on the platform include Home Appliances, Mobile and Accessories, Health and Beauty and Men Clothes as seen in Malaysians’ purchasing habits. The top items from these categories are air fryers, cordless vacuums, Bluetooth earphones, gaming headphones, oximeters, skincare products like serums and facial masks, brow shaping kits, track pants and leather belts.

Kenneth Soh, Head of Marketing Campaigns at Shopee Malaysia commented, “It is interesting to discover the online shopping pattern among Malaysian consumers towards the end of the month. This insight shows that Malaysian payday shopping habits are driven by needs more than other things – which differs from any other days. With this understanding, we are able to curate campaigns that will support Malaysian consumption and lifestyle better so that we can continuously provide greater deals and savings that are relevant to our local audience.”

He also added that Shopee’s Feb 25 Payday Sale this year is ongoing from now until 25 February to allow users to enjoy free shipping with a minimum spend of RM5. Consumers can discover mobile and gadgets, fashion items, essentials and more for RM25 during the Shocking Sale sessions daily.

In response to the increasing demand for mobile prepaid top ups, this campaign offers a 25% Coins cashback for mobile reloads, bill payments as well as repayment of the National Higher Education Fund (PTPTN) through ShopeePay. Terms and conditions apply.

Shopee Prizes is offering users the opportunity to win up to 10 million Shopee Coins and attractive prizes like a Samsung Note 20, Domino’s Personal Pizza vouchers and more. Just play Shopee Farm, Spin & Win, Shopee Bubble, Shopee Candy, Shopee Claw, Shopee Go, Shopee Pets and Shopee Shake to stand a chance to win attractive gifts.

Malaysians can also look forward to attractive offers and deals from brands such as Dr Cardin, Enfagrow, Gabor, Pediasure, Tefal and vivo during Shopee’s Feb 25 Payday Sale.

For more information about the Feb 25 Payday Sale, please visit https://shopee.com.my/m/PaydaySale.

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Recipe: Ikea Meatballs with Cream Sauce and Creamy Mash

 If you've been to IKEA, chances are you have also tried their famous Swedish meatballs. At the start of the COVD-19 pandemic, IKEA released the recipe for their Swedish meatballs and cream sauce for everyone to try making at home. I, as many others, quickly saved the recipe card and have since made it a few times at home whenever the craving hits.

You can make your own meatballs, but to save time, I usually just get the ready-made ones. For the cream sauce, I've adapted it so you can make it even without having to buy cooking cream or double cream. I usually make it with full cream milk, which is something we always have at home.  

IKEA meatballs with cream sauce and creamy mash 
Recipe from IKEA, with adaptations

Ingredients
24 beef meatballs

1 tbsp olive oil

For the mash potatoes

800g-1kg Russet potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks

40g butter

Salt 

A dash of milk

For the sauce

30g butter

1T plain flour

200ml beef stock

1/3 cup full cream milk

1 tsp light soy sauce

1/2 tsp Dijon mustard

Freshly ground white pepper

1. Heat oil in pan, and brown the meatballs, in two batches, about 5 mins each batch. Once browned, remove and set aside.

2. For the cream sauce: Melt butter in same pan, then whisk in flour, mixing well. Add beef stock and continue to stir. Finally add milk, soy sauce, Dijon mustard and pepper and continue to stir until sauce thickens.

3. For the mash potatoes: Boil potatoes in a pot of salted water for 12-15 minutes. Drain and place in a large mixing bowl, along with butter, salt, and a dash of milk. Mash until smooth. 

4. Serve meatballs with cream sauce and mash potatoes on the side. Add a generous dollop of cranberry sauce.

Tip: you can replace cranberry sauce with roselle jam or strawberry/blueberry jam as well.

IKEA meatballs recipe IKEA meatballs recipe IKEA meatballs recipe  IKEA meatballs recipe 

IKEA cream sauce recipe IKEA cream sauce recipe IKEA cream sauce recipe

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Lalamove Increased Their Business Volume with The Help of Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing is a flourishing industry. Both the merchants and publishers are making a profit through this cost per action model. Merchants are the companies that employ affiliate marketing strategies for building their brands. Publishers are the affiliate markets to promote the brands’ products. Affiliate marketing works with the harmonious collaboration of both parties.

This marketing technique is changing the way people used to sell and buy products. It is helping brands grow engagement and increase the conversions rate for a comparatively low cost. Lalamove is a brand that took the wise decision to enter the world of affiliate marketing.

Lalamove is an application that allows users to access a large fleet of vehicles and drivers in just a few clicks. The purpose of the brand is to make on-demand delivery widely available. You have to enter your pick-up and drop-off locations, pick the desired vehicle type and you will be connected with a local driver in no time. Users can also follow deliveries in real-time using the app’s GPS tracking feature, go cashless for delivery payments, and keep track of all their activities in one spot.

It is a brand with a vision that decided to increase its reach with affiliate marketing. As a last-mile delivery solution, Lalamove has become a crucial partner for businesses of all sizes and sectors. Lalamove assists businesses ranging from independent brick & mortar enterprises to restaurants, retail outlets, and e-commerce organisations.

The head of marketing at Lalamove, Veronica Wong, sat with us to discuss the brand’s experience with affiliate marketing and how it helped them grow even after the adversities thrown at them by Covid-19. Let’s learn from the Lalamove story and understand the intricacies.

Veronica Wong, Head of Marketing (Lalamove)

Veronica focuses on developing effective and efficient marketing strategies for the brand. Along with formulating strategies, she also supervises the execution.

What is your recent launch or top-selling product?

Recently, we’ve launched the Dismantle & Assembly Service (House Moving). This service simply means customers will get a fully-equipped driver and up to 2 helpers to dismantle and assemble their furniture to and fro the premise. A more convenient house moving experience starts with us!

Other than that, Lalamove launched the Long Haul Delivery service which offers interstate delivery with 4 x 4 Pickups, Vans and Lorries. Lalamove’s on-demand delivery model enables businesses to place a long-distance delivery order anytime. Customers can get matched with a 4 x 4 Pickup/Van/Lorry delivery partner instantly. Besides on-demand and same-day, customers can also reserve our vehicle for interstate delivery up to 30 days in advance. Our fleet of interstate delivery vehicles can meet the varying volume and size of commodities. With Lalamove, customers will only need to pay based on the figure that our app shows you! Our app will display the cost for the interstate delivery after assigning the pickup location, drop off location and vehicle type.

What is your go-to marketing strategy currently?

Dynamic media mix is always our go-to marketing strategy to make sure we’re delivering the message to the market at the right time with larger coverage.

How did the COVID-19 pandemic affect your marketing strategy?

The pandemic has significantly changed consumer behaviour. Nowadays, people are more glued to their devices than ever, so it’s essential to put our brand front and centre on channels that can give us the best returns. We’ve been exploring more channels and media partners to enrich our marketing strategy to make sure we’re “visible” by the market.

Why did you choose affiliate marketing as a marketing strategy?

We’ve selected affiliate marketing as part of our marketing strategy as it’s an effective channel to promote our brand and generate conversions.
Affiliate marketing has managed to improve our business volume at an affordable cost.

What is your vision/target for affiliate marketing and what are the biggest hurdles in the way?

We hope that affiliate marketing is able to scale further on its contribution to the business growth at a lower cost compared to other media channels.
The biggest challenge with affiliate marketing is that we have limited data to understand how to improve the campaign performance.

How do you find the best talents for affiliate marketing?

We seek suggestions from agencies for the most suitable talents for our business.

Will you keep affiliate marketing as a long-term marketing strategy? Why or why not?

Yes, as we believe a dynamic media mix in marketing will help to maximize the marketing strategy result. We hope to see more collaboration, if possible, with higher delivery volume to the business.

Why did you choose ACCESSTRADE Malaysia as your affiliate marketing partner?

We are happy to work with ACCESSTRADE Malaysia which offers a performance-driven campaign for us to measure and optimize for our marketing strategy. Meanwhile, the team is supportive of our queries and pushing full support to our campaign which is what we appreciated.

How has ACCESSTRADE Malaysia contributed to your affiliate marketing strategy and target?

ACCESSTRADE Malaysia has contributed a good volume towards our KPI.

What is your advice to brands looking to explore affiliate marketing and the affiliate marketers who want to promote brand products?

Understand the market trend and always explore solutions that are suitable for the business as the nature of every business is different.
Creativity plays an important role to connect customers, affiliate marketers and businesses.

Can u give us a short wish in conjunction with ACCESSTRADE MY 3rd Year Anniversary?

Happy Anniversary ACCESSTRADE Malaysia for the awesome 3 Years! We wish you to grow stronger in the coming years.

The story of Lalamove is inspiring for all aspirants. You can connect with the brand through its official website, Facebook page, Instagram page, and LinkedIn page.
The affiliate marketing technique helped Lalamove and it can help you too!

ACCESSTRADE is a platform serving as a link between the brand and the affiliate marketer. It is one of the finest affiliate marketing networks. You can avail the benefits of ACCESSTRADE in Japan and Southeast Asia. You can reach your audience through affiliate marketing by finding talent in the lush network of ACCESSTRADE. You can pursue your dreams of becoming an affiliate marketer and working alongside big names on ACCESSTRADE. We serve both sides of the coin.

For more info, visit https://accesstrade.global/my/ or register at https://bit.ly/PublisherRegistration.

Source: https://accesstrade.global/my/blog/2022/01/28/lalamove-increased-their-business-volume-with-the-help-of-affiliate-marketing/

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Recipe: Stir fried savoury rice cake (Vegetarian)

Hi guys, how's your Chinese New Year celebrations going so far? Usually on the first day of CNY, we will have vegetarian food for the whole day. 

In the afternoon, we will usually cook a more elaborate meal with 5-6 courses, but for dinner, we usually keep it simple with a vegetarian noodle dish.  For past two years, I made this Stir fried savoury rice cake (nian gao) for my family and they thoroughly enjoyed it. Also perfect after many days of CNY feasting, when you're craving for something lighter.

Stir fried savoury rice cake (Vegetarian)
Recipe by Baby Sumo
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 15-20 minutes
Serves 5-6


Ingredients

400g white rice cake 白粿干, soaked in water for at least 10 hours
1 small shallot, thinly sliced
2-3T cooking oil
1T dark soy sauce or cooking caramel
1-2T light soy sauce
1 leek, sliced at an angle
2 cabbage leaves, washed and thinly sliced
Bok choy, cut into 1" lengths
2 dried Chinese mushrooms, rehydrated and thinly sliced
1 wood ear fungus, rehydrated and thinly sliced
1/3 carrot, julienned

150g Omnimeat strip
Salt
A few dashes white pepper

1. In a pot of salted water, cook the rice cakes for a min, then drain and rinse in cold water a few times to remove extra starch. Drain and set aside.

2. Heat oil in wok. Add Omnimeat and stir fry for 4-5 mins until lightly golden. Remove and set aside.

3. Add shallots to oil and sauté for 2 mins. Add wood ear fungus, mushroom, cabbage, carrot, leeks, bok choy and sauté for a few mins. Stir in rice cake and season with dark and light soy sauce, salt and white pepper.

4. Stir in Omnimeat and serve.

Note: You can buy the rice cakes here: https://shp.ee/6qd5qnd

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Recipe: Poon Choi (Pen Cai 盆菜)

Poon choi 盆菜, literally translated as basin dish, is a multi-layer dish commonly served during Chinese New Year.  It is traditionally served in large wooden, porcelain or metal basins called poon, for communal-style consumption.

This year, I decided to put together a Poon Choi at home to enjoy together with my parents. There are no rules as to what you can put in a poon choi, but the bottom layer is usually braised Chinese cabbage and radish, followed by ingredients which absorbs sauces well and then the drier or more luxurious ingredients at the top. 

Surprisingly, putting together a poon choi is not as time consuming or difficult as I imagined it to be. It took me less than 1 1/2 hours to cook and assemble this poon choi with 12 auspicious ingredients. For my poon choi, I used a 24cm cast iron round casserole pot. 

Poon choi as a whole symbolises unity, and each ingredient is carefully selected for its auspicious symbolism:

Chinese cabbage - 100 types of prosperity
Tofu pok - gold / wealth
Fish maw - abundance
Smoked duck - fertility
Roast pork (siew yoke) - strength
Chinese mushroom - completeness, family unity
Sea cucumber - happiness
Hokkaido scallops - new opportunities
Tiger prawns - Happiness and good fortune
Abalone - Definite good fortune
Fatt choy (black moss) - exceeding wealth
Broccoli - new beginnings
Goji - red colour signifies good luck

The whole family thoroughly enjoyed it! Very delicious, would not hesitate making this again next year for our Chinese New Year celebrations. Wishing you all a happy, healthy and prosperous Year of the Tiger!

Poon Choi (Pen Cai 盆菜)

Recipe by Baby Sumo

Preparation time: 30-45 mins

Cooking time: 45 mins

Serves 6

Ingredients

For the Chinese cabbage

8 Chinese cabbage leaves

300ml water

1/2 tbsp chicken stock concentrate

A few dashes white pepper

Braising

6 tofu pok, cut in half

200g sea cucumber, cut at an angle, 1" thick

1 fish maw, soaked for 1 hour, then cut into 2cm lengths

6 Chinese mushrooms, rehydrated and stalks trimmed

2 tbsp vegetarian oyster sauce

1 tbsp light soy sauce

2-3 tbsp Shaoxing wine

A few dashes white pepper

1/2 tbsp chicken stock concentrate

700ml water

1 1/2 tbsp cornstarch

3 tbsp water

Other ingredients

1 smoked duck, about 200g

200-300g roast pork, store bought or homemade, cut into chunks

6 large Hokkaido scallops

6 tiger prawns, trimmed

1 - 2 cans abalone

6 broccoli florets

A handful fatt choy, rehydrated in boiling water for 2 mins

5 Goji berries, rehydrated in water

1. Chinese cabbage: Wash Chinese cabbage leaves and cut into half, then into 2" lengths. In a cast iron pot, bring water to the boil, then season with chicken stock concentrate and white pepper. Layer on the cabbage and simmer for 30 minutes. Steam brocolli florets for 3-4 mins, then remove. 

2. Braising: In a separate saucepan or pot, bring water to the boil, then season with oyster sauce, light soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, white pepper and chicken stock concentrate. Add the mushrooms and fish maw, and braise over low heat for 30 mins. After 30 mins, add the tofu pok and sea cucumber and braise for a further 15 mins. Remove all ingredients and set aside sauce. 

3. Smoked duck: Cook smoked duck in air fryer for 10 minutes at 200C. Remove and set aside to cool. Once cool, slice the duck. 

4. Roast pork: If roast pork is not freshly made, reheat in air fryer for 10 minutes at 160C. Increase heat to 200C and cook in air fryer for a further 10-15 minutes, until skin is crispy.  Set aside to cool, then cut into bite-sized chunks.

5. Prawns and scallops: Marinate prawns with 1/2 tsp Shaoxing wine, salt and pepper. In a frying pan, heat 1 tablespoon of oil at medium high heat. Add prawns and cook for 2 mins each side, until nice and crispy. Remove and set aside. Add a slice of butter to pan. Season scallops with salt, then sear on high heat for 2-3 mins, until cooked to your liking. Set aside. (Note: You can also stir fry or steam the scallops and prawns)

6. For the sauce: Heat sauce from Step 2 over medium heat. Mix constarch with water, then pour into the sauce to thicken, stirring frequently. Taste and season with more Shaoxing wine or soy sauce as necessary. 

7. To assemble: In the cast iron pot, layer your ingredients in this order.

Bottom layer: Chinese cabbage

Middle layer: tofu pok, fish maw

Top layer: Smoked duck, roast pork, mushroom, sea cucumber, Hokkaido scallops, broccoli, tiger prawn, abalone, fatt choy, goji.

Click here to watch a short YouTube video on how to assemble a poon choi at home: 

8. Pour sauce, from Step 6, over the ingredients (except roast pork, to keep the skin crispy). Enjoy!

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