Express Keto Meals @ Royale Chulan Penang

Express Keto Meals at Royale Chulan Penang is back again! Back in March, the introduction of keto options was well-received by the general public as such, Royale Chulan Penang is now introducing a new and improved all day dining menu featuring additional keto and non keto-friendly options. 

Express Keto Meals

Monday - Sunday

All Day Dining - Sri Tanjung Cafe

Available for Dine-in, Takeaway and Delivery!

I believe many of you are probably the same as me, which gained weight throughout the MCO with the cycle of "Eat, Work, Sleep, Repeat". So now is time to payback with starting back Keto diet. In case you still have no clue on what is Ketogenic Diet...

The ketogenic diet (or keto diet, for short) is a low-carb, high-fat diet that offers many health benefits and over 20 studies has shown that this type of diet can help people lose weight and improve their health. 

Royale Chulan Penang is targeting at the health conscious group with this promotion and also to encourage guests to live a healthier and more fulfilling lifestyle in addition to changing the perception that healthy food is tasteless and not filling.

The Express Keto Meals features 14 different keto and non-keto main course options for guests to choose from. Among the new keto-friendly additions include the Keto Crusted Lamb with Malaysian Ratatouille and Cauliflower Cake, Keto Seafood Egg Crepe Scallion with Avocado Tomato Olive Salsa, Keto Coconut Beef Curry with Cauliflower Rice and many more. Besides selecting their main course of choice, guests will also be able to select their own appetiser, soup as well as desserts. 

Bae and I tried it last week with the following orders:

Set 1 - RM34

Appetiser - Homemade Coleslaw

Soup - Keto Cream Root Vegetable Soup with Beef Bacon

Main Course - Crusted Lamb with Malaysian Ratatouille and Cauliflower Cake

Dessert - Keto Almond Cake and Keto Almond Walnut Crumble

Set 2 - RM35

Appetiser - Caramelised Honey Pumpkin

Soup - Keto Garlic Cheese Chowder

Main Course - Seafood Egg Crepe Scallion with Avocado Tomato Olive Salsa

Dessert - Keto Almond Walnut Crumble and Tropical Cut Fruits

If you are interested to see the photos of all the other dishes, check out 

Royale Chulan Penang Facebook Page

The Express Keto Meals is available daily at the Sri Tanjung Café and is priced from RM20+. In addition to dining in, guests can also now choose to takeaway or have it delivered directly to them using the hotel’s own delivery service. The Royale Chulan Penang delivery service covers within Penang Island EXCEPT Bayan Lepas, Tanjung Bungah, Batu Ferringhi, Teluk Bahang and Balik Pulau from 11am to 8pm with a delivery charge of RM6 per trip. 

For reservations or enquiries, contact us at + 60 (4) 259 8888 ext 8910 / +6016 330 3408 (F&B Orders only) or visit our website at www.royalechulan.com/penang . 

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Recipe: Keto Chicken Curry

If you are same like me, on a keto diet and looking for more ideas to prepare your keto meals, then here it is with the recipe! Bored of omelette, boiled egg, grilled chicken? Well, I made myself a thick creamy Keto Chicken Curry with high fat low carbs, you should try it too! 

Keto Chicken Curry

Read here on my Keto Diet Journey where I lost almost 10kg!

Yield - 5 servings
Prep - 10 minutes
Cook - 30 minutes

Ingredients:
4 Tomatoes cut into wedges (Giant - RM1.99 per pkt with 8 tomatoes) - RM1
2 whole bulbs of crushed Garlic (Giant - RM1.54 with 5 bulbs) - RM1
8 tablespoons of Olive Oil - RM1
2 tablespoons of Unsalted Butter - RM1
1 packet of A1 Instant Chicken Curry Sauce (Giant - RM5.04 per pkt) - RM5.04
1.5kg of Chicken (Giant - RM5.89 per kg - Weekend Fresh Saver) - RM8.84
1 head of Broccoli (Giant - RM2.49 per pc - Weekend Fresh Saver) - RM2.49
1 head of Romaine Lettuce (Giant - RM1.99 per head) - RM1.99
250ml of Coconut Milk (Giant - RM1.99) - RM1.99

Total Cost - RM24.35
Cost per serving - RM24.35 / 6 = RM4.06


Instructions:

1. Cut tomatoes into wedges, crush garlic and cut the chicken into all equal size.
2. Heat up olive oil and butter in a large pot and fry garlic until brown to release the flavor. 
3. Add tomatoes wedges into the pot as the heat increases the lycopene (茄红素) content, as well as the antioxidant levels. 
4. Mix in a packet of A1 Chicken Curry Sauce and all the chicken into the pot until aromatic. 
5. Add in 250ml of water (depending on the curry thickness of your liking) and let it boil.
6. Add broccoli and coconut milk into the pot.
7. Simmer over low heat until the chicken becomes tender. 
8. Serve with romaine lettuce as the side dish. 

I got most of my ingredients from Giant Malaysia because it is located very near to my house. As a frugal #YourFinanceDoctor , I only buy when it is a good bargain, especially the chicken, which only limited to 3 birds per customer! 😎😎😎

As it is quite a last minute decision to cook Chicken Curry, I ended up buying the ready made A1 Instant Chicken Curry Sauce, which could be contributing to the carbs. After checking from the nutrition facts at the packaging, I was shocked to find that the Carbohydrate consists of 58g, while 20g of fat and 8g of Protein.

Although it is still high fat, but the carbohydrate certainly at max level (recommended at 20g maximum). In other words, the other meal of the day would have to be all fat and protein without carb, which means back to egg again! 😂😂😂

Anyway, I hope you like my recipe! Do take out the A1 Instant Chicken Curry Sauce and replace with curry powder, paprika, chili, onion, ginger. This way you can control on the carb level! 

Happy Keto-ing! 

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KETO Diet in Penang, Malaysia

I cannot remember how I came across KETO diet, but it all started in the beginning of year 2018. For those who have seen me in person, would have the same doubt and asking the same question - "For real? You are god damn thin like a stickman!" (they judged a book by its cover, literally, with my clothes on!)

Well, I may look thin when fully clothed but deep down I am actually fat, at least according to the Body Fat Percentage. Don't show me this face 😒😒😒, you will understand after seeing the photo!

What is Skinny Fat?

Isn't it contradicting? "Skinny" and "Fat" at the same time? Well, the “Skinny” refers to having relatively low levels of lean muscle mass and the “Fat” refers to having too high level of body fat. So when you combine both – too little muscle and too much fat, you get the “Skinny Fat”! Let me show you my numbers back in 1st of March 2018 compare to the reference fitness level.

Numbers do not lie, so obviously I was having the skinny fat body type. Many people would assume that if their Body Mass Index (BMI) is within the healthy range, then they have nothing to worry about. WRONG! BMI does not tell you the whole picture, especially if you are skinny fat like me. So Body Fat Percentage and Muscle Mass Percentage play a huge roles too! 

Here comes the million dollar question!

Last few years, a lot of articles were telling me to bulk first, build some lean muscle with higher intake of protein. So I did, I took Serious Mass, a high calories weight gainer from Optimum Nutrition. Combining with frequent workout, I did gained some lean muscle especially on arm and chest while still having flabby waist. But muscles all went away when my workout reduced due to my work schedule and I ended up back to square round one! 😩😩😩

So I have decided that I would rather look skinny lean rather than just F-A-T since I cannot fix my workout schedule as my time kind of depending on my appointment with clients (this happens when #YourFinanceDoctor is not famous enough to let client accommodate my time😢😢😢). Anyway, this is where I started to look at how to cut first. All the while I was taking low fat high protein meals, until I get to know about KETO. 

What is KETO?

The ketogenic diet, in short - KETO, is a high-fat, adequate-protein, low-carbohydrate diet that forces the body to burn fats rather than carbohydrates. Hence, the body produces ketones in the liver to be used as energy. It is also known as low carb diet, low carb high fat (LCHF), etc.

Our bodies are incredibly adaptive to what you put into it – when you overload it with fats and take away carbohydrates, it will begin to burn ketones as the primary energy source. Optimal ketone levels offer many health, weight loss, physical and mental performance benefits. The Keto diet can even reduce seizures and widely accepted as treatment for epilepsy today.

Follow me on Insta! @henrytcx89

Like they always said, "Fitness is 70% diet 30% exercise" and "Abs are made in kitchen!" So I am on my journey to get leaner body, particularly no more flabby waist/muffin top and probably visible abs. My daily routine would be Keto Diet + Intermittent Fasting (16-8) + 1 Gallon Water and exercise. I am still improving my exercise routine though! 

Follow me on Insta! @henrytcx89

Nevertheless, I have seen some improvement, including waist reduced from 33 inches to 30 inches and lost 8kg in roughly 2 to 3 months. Although it is still a long way to go until the washboard abs became visible, but my target would be making it come true at the end of 2018! 

I measured this morning and my weight was 68.3kg! Body Fat Percentage dropped to 14.8% too. I believe my next target would be increasing my Muscle Mass Percentage. Basketball is fun but probably not helping me to gain muscle, so I would have to start lifting heavy with mass-building compound exercises.

The next question is...

Do you want to see this book without cover?

I promise it will be a thin one! #ifyouknowwhatimean

I was thinking to take photo from time to time as a record too.

Thanks to KetoJules, a Malaysian that records her Keto journey, as well as Suraya from RinggitOhRinggit, I was inspired to record mine too! If you are on a Keto diet, especially if you are residing in Penang, let's keep in touch! The Keto journey can be quite lonely in Malaysia, so it would be great to have a support group, especially on sharing the knowledge, be it workout, recipe and many more! 

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