- wandernut stuffs her face -

My favourite potato chips!

2007-07-31T22:38:00.001+08:00

Been wanting to post about this since I got back from Bangkok, but didn't get to try all them chips till a few weeks back.

These are available only in Thailand.
And oh my gawd, they're sooooo good!
Especially when eaten with Singha Light Beer...

I *heart* Lays Nori (Seaweed) Flavour. Seaweed flavour is available now in quite a few potato chip brands in Malaysia. But none of them come close to the perfection that this is. The balance of flavours, and I swear you can taste the sea in this one.

Coming a close second is Lays Thai Chilli Paste Flavour. With just a hint of fire on your tongue after you eat it, it's not too salty or too overpowering. You can still taste the crisp potato chip. I don't have the picture right now cos I think it's in JH's camera at the office.

Now this one above, is Lays Barbeque Spareribs. It's PORK spareribs of course. Non-kosher *wheeeeeeeee*. But I found the very artificial-tasting BBQ flavour a tad too much. The packaging looks almost good enough to eat. But this flavour didn't make me crave for a second pack after I finished the first. Unlike the nori.

There were other flavours. Thai Basil (crinkle cut) pictured above and Thai Seafood. These two weren't very memorable. And I only have a picture of the former. Of course, they also had the flavours we can find in Malaysia, but why bother? :D

So, if you're ever in Thailand, you must have the Lays Nori potato chips! Maybe the Thai Chilli Paste if you'd like a kick to go with your beer. And I'll know you're a wonderful friend if you'll bring back some for me should you ever go that way. Hee hee.

Eating down south!

2007-07-01T16:57:00.001+08:00

YL and I were in Muar yesterday for RK and TJ's wedding, but on our way south, we stopped by Melaka for Tangkak Beef Noodles. Thanks to the lead on this makan blog, we found the place. We initially thought of going to Tangkak town itself (it's right next to Muar), but not knowing the way to its famous beef noodle shop or anybody there meant we could get hopelessly lost.

Even with a map, it took us a wrong turn or two before we found the place at 37 Jalan Merdeka, Taman Melaka Raya. But boy, was it worth it! Very generous portions, yet not too much. The beef slices were delicious. The broth beefy. The tripe nicely chewy. The tendon melt-in-the-mouth.

YL pointing to the shop. Oooooohhhh.... the beef noodlessss.

We also had the beef balls. It's not as bouncy as the beef balls in KL, slightly on the sweet side (which took some getting used to) but tasty all the same.

Tender, tender beef and juicy beef balls.

Next to get on our list was the famous mille crepe in Melaka. I didn't know where it was located. So I sought the help of Melaka foodie, Jason who told us it's at Nadeje's in Plaza Mahkota. Not only did he give us very good directions, he was so sweet to call the owner to pack 4 slices ready for our collection. Thanks dude! :)

We went on our way to Muar, sat down for coffee at the 434 Kopitiam at the main road facing the bus station, ordered some famous Muar coffee and dug into the mille crepe. It was really good lor. Kicks Food Foundry's ass. Hard.

Nadeje's Mille Crepe. 434 Kopitiam's Elephant Bean and Double Shot Sai Kee iced coffee

Even the coffee was yummy. YL and JK had double shots of Sai Kee iced coffee, while I had some 100% Elephant Bean iced coffee. Wah, syiok lor! Hers was strong and flavourful. Mine was not as strong but it had a nice, bitter-ish after taste. Kinda like the bitter winey taste of some durians. YL didn't quite like it, but my tastebuds enjoyed the rather unique flavour. JK then suggested we try the babi (pork) satay at the glutton street nearby.

Lots of stalls selling Satay and Otak-Otak. Porky and Cockle Satay.

Her cousin's wedding was only two hours away. But since we're here, might as well right? So we had the satay (JK ordered cockle satay as well) and or chien (oyster omelette). The satay was good... ah, pork, the best meat in the world. The or chien was delicious and eggy. Not too starchy with lots of oysters.

The uncle preparing or chien. Slurrrppp.

We were feeling really stuffed by the time we went back to her grandmother's place to change for the wedding dinner.

And that's another feast on its own.

Six Seasons. Braised Precious Seafood (yay! no sharks were killed). Steamed Pomfret. Mushrooms and Broccoli. Salad Prawns. And my all time favourite. ROAST PIGLET! There were also some really interesting new dishes I've never had before, wedding dinner or otherwise. Chicken Rojak (fruit rojak with fried chicken pieces, a refreshing twist the usual lemon chicken) and Stuffed Orange with Yam Paste. It tasted sweet, tangy and earthy all at the same time. Really comforting and yummy and so fragrant from the orange peel which you could eat. It looked like the orange was stuffed with yam paste and then boiled in syrup.

Trays and trays of Chicken Rojak. Stuffed Orange and Yam Paste.

I felt like the orange after that. Duly stuffed.
As we drove back to PJ after the dinner, my mind was toying with the idea of swinging by Melaka again for satay celup. My tummy protested. Anyway, it was late. And YL's utter shock that I could still think about food was a good indication that the satay celup should stay in my head. Heh heh.

It was a fun trip. And such a cute couple too.
Here's wishing them a lifetime of joy, laughter and good food! :D

Congratulations RK & TJ!

A Penang Feast (and a bite of Ipoh)

2007-06-29T14:20:00.000+08:00

Swatow Lane's New World Cafe
It's a food court-like place with ample carpark. D & I spent so much time driving around Georgetown in circles that when I missed the turning into the carpark, I couldn't be arsed to go another round on the one-way streets and risk getting lost again. So I parked next to the coffeeshop opposite (the 'old' New World coffeeshop). And got a parking ticket. EEESSSH! Nasib baik the food was good.

Otak-otak and Pasembor (with lots of sotong and that lovely sauce!)

Or Kuih (Yam Cake) and Mee Rebus (the sauce is almost like concentrated prawn mee soup, so gorgeous)

Penang Fruit Rojak and Or Chien (Oyster Omelette)

The aftermath. Followed by Ice Kacang at the 'old' New World coffeeshop opposite.

Dinner with Geekchic at Wong Kok, Queensbay Mall.
Thank you Geek!

Egg Tarts and Char Siew Soh

Pork Chop Noodles, Beef Brisket Rice, SzeChuan Noodles

Pulau Tikus Sin Hup Aun Coffeeshop and Kwai Lock Coffeeshop.
Don't ask why we went to two coffeeshops on Sunday morning alone. Hehehe. It took us one and a half hours, including our time going round and round Georgetown again, feeling very lost. If there's anything I learned on this trip, it's don't drive around Penang without a good map or a Penangite.

We were so hungry D & I ate enough to feed 5 people. And then we tapaued some food back to Geek's apartment, where there were asam laksa, popiah and chicken wings waiting for us. Wooohooo!

Sin Hup Aun *sigh*. Curry laksa.

Mushroom Wantan Mee. Penang Chee Cheong Fun.

Char koay teow. With DUCK EGG. Generous prawns and lapcheong! So fragrant! ARRRGGHHHH!

Ban Chang Kueh from the famous uncle's stall and
apong from Kwai Lock coffeeshop behind Sin Hup Aun.

Roti Babi from Kwai Lock coffeeshop and asam laksa from a stall near Geek's apartment in Sg.Ara. Yummylicious!

Ipoh Wah Nam Coffee Shop
and Funny Mountain Soya Bean
We came here on our way back from Penang. The coffeeshop proper was closed so we had to go to the 'kopitiam' branch of theirs. The hor fun was so-so, but the dry curry noodles WAS THE BOMB! Downed with iced white coffee (not the 3-in-1 shit) and some roti bakar. On the way up to Penang, we stopped by in Ipoh as well, and Mr.Geekchic took us to Macy's coffeeshop near Jusco for hor fun and white coffee. Oh, the hor fun was good! And the best white coffee I've had so far. Slurrrpp... WHITE COFFEEE... slurp.

Dry curry noodles with lots of SEE HUM. Funny Mountain Drive-Thru Soya Bean Drinks /Taufufah.

He also took us to the drive thru soya bean place near the chicken and taugeh shops. They were out of taufafah but apparently it's really smooth here. So we settled for a soya bean drink before we set off for KL again. So happen there was a news article about them the next day in the Star. Click here. And read about them on this blog.

Although I ran in the Penang Bridge Run and have been exercising quite abit prior to this trip, I put on 1.5kg . This is ridiculous. I mean, how can this possibly happen? :P

Starbuck's Italian Roast

2007-06-07T16:59:00.000+08:00

I was there after lunch today, looking for a new pack of coffee for my coffee press. I'm such a sucker for packaging, cos when I saw the cute Vespa on the Italian Roast, I just had to get it. That, and also because Starbucks in Malaysia don't carry their whole range of beans anyway. It was a choice between Italian Roast, Espresso Roast, Guatemala, Sumatra and their Limited Edition Tanzania and Arabian Mocha Sanani.

My coffee cost RM28 for 250g, which would probably last me about 2 months (at one cup per working day). The friendly store manager ground half the beans for me (so they stay fresher longer) and gave me a coffee passport! It's a cute little booklet featuring all their coffees. When you buy a pack of coffee beans, you get a nice sticker of your chosen coffee (for Italian Roast, see above), which you stick in the page featuring it.

Buy 4 different packs of coffee from different parts of the world, and you get a 5th pack of your choice, FREE! How's that for a good deal?

So back to the Italian Roast (according to the coffee passport) :

processing method
washed
complementary flavours
chocolate, caramel, spices
classification
extra bold
key term
intense
similar coffee
french roast

Made my first cup as soon as I got back to the office. It was goooood, with a slight 70% dark chocolate-ish flavour. It's a little smokey with no hint of bitterness at all, even without sugar added.

This coffee is categorised as a Dark Roast Blend (grouped with Multi-Region coffee). Now I just need to get a pack from Latin America, Africa/Arabia, and Asia/Pacific and a free pack of coffee will be mine! Muahahaha! By then I should have an idea which is my favourite! :)

Apparently it's perfect to go with chocolate or a sweet pastry. Yuh-ummm!

Eggs-tacy

2007-05-22T17:13:00.000+08:00

A tribute to the humble yet versatile life-giving force of nature in a shell.

This is gonna be the first entry for a weekly project in my "favourite ingredients" series on this blog.

Ah, the amazing egg.
Chicken, duck or quail (I don't know what other eggs people eat).
Sweet or savoury.
Raw, pickled, preserved, salted, half-boiled, hard-boiled or fried.
In omelette, meringue, souffle, pudding, custard, creme caramel, creme brulee, tart, cake, biscuits, or even a sauce (think Carbonara).
How art thou fair?

Not so fair, it seems.
Eggs have been getting some bad rep for its high cholesterol, although debates are still going on about this matter. And funnily enough, cooking actually oxidises the cholesterol in the yolk, and this is what increases the risk of heart disease.

That said, I don't avoid my yolks (they're the best part!), though in my opinion, moderation is the key. However, I close one eye when I eat my umpteenth slice of Indonesian layer cake (7-9 yolks in the recipe) or when I reach out for another helping of custard.

The other option, eating eggs raw, is more scary with a capital S for Salmonella. But sometimes, when I'm too caught up in the 'moment', I throw caution in the wind. In a few lapses of rational judgement, I've eaten raw eggs many times (usually cracked over a steaming hot plate of Hokkien mee or in hot steaming rice) and I lived to drool about it. Hey, tiramisu uses raw eggs anyway. Even Ben and Jerry's, and I'm quite sure, Haagen Daz too! These days, it's hard to say when you'll get lucked out, but if some people are willing to die by the sword (or bullets, in this time and day), why not by the spoon? Heh!

Anyway, here are my egg-ceptional favourites when it comes to all things eggy.

Favourite egg
Chicken, preferably free range.

You like your breakfast eggs...
Sunny-side up, with the yolks still runny.
I like them soft-boiled too, with buttered toast. Yummm...
Decisions, decisions.

Favourite dessert with eggs as main ingredient
This is a long list, but here are my top 3:
- Indonesian layer cake
- Flourless chocolate cake
- Creme brulee
- Chinese egg tarts
(oops, that's four)

Favourite savoury dishes with eggs as main ingredient
My top 3:
- Steamed 3-eggs (chopped century egg and salted egg in egg custard)
- Ham & Cheese & Mushroom omellete
- Fried sunny-side up, on top of fried rice or maggi / indo mee goreng

Century Egg or Salted Egg
I love both! The former on its own with pickled ginger, and the latter with plain rice and ulam.
(Never had century eggs or salted eggsbefore? Click on them to find out more)

Egg pet peeve
Raw quail's egg with soba. Euwww...

Eggiest memory
My dad used to make this really delicious and lemak rice dish.

Hot steaming rice on a plate. Make a well in the middle. Put in a generous knob of butter (salted). Crack in a raw egg. Mix immediately to let the heat semi-cook the egg. Add thick soy sauce to taste and a sprinkling of pepper.

I loved this when I was little, and although I haven't eaten it in a while, I know the taste will always bring back memories of childhood.

Now, egg lovers, consider yourselves tagged!

Food hunting in Bangkok

2007-05-18T14:34:00.000+08:00

This holiday, our mission was to eat in as many interesting places as possible. Eat where the locals eat, where the flavours are not adjusted to suit farang tastebuds. There were many more places we wanted to go, but well, there was only so much we could cover in 5 days.

I would like to credit www.bangkok.com's food tips and www.trufflers.com for some valuable information and tips on the culinary delights of Bangkok. From these two websites, various food blogs and recommendations from friends and relatives, LY and I had quite a long list of places 'To Eat'. Happy to report we managed to cover 90% of our shortlisted 'Must-Eats'.

This brought us all around Bangkok, from one end of the BTS line to another, river ferries, cabs, tuk-tuks. We walked. Alot. Got lost. Only to find some of the eating places were right under our noses all along. It was fun. Great fun!

BANGLAMPHU - Chinatown and the Old City (near Khao San)

Guay Jub (assorted pig parts and noodles)

Take the BTS to Saphan Taksin station (Silom line), changing trains at Siam. From there take a river ferry (18 baht) to Ratchawongse pier which leads you straight to Chinatown.

A short walk straight up Ratchawong road, and Sampeng Lane is on your right. It's wholesale accessories, knick knacks, shoes and bags galore. Kinda like a condensed version of Petaling Street.

Keep walking and you'll see a stall selling Guay Jub and Nam Song (orange juice). Guay Jub is a bowl of noodles with all parts of a pig you can imagine (40 baht). In our 'To Eat' list, we were supposed to find a stall selling these noodles about 2 blocks away. But it looked like it was going to rain, and the noodles here looked yummy. Oh, what the heck! I was hungry! It turned out to be really good. Just a little different from Penang's koay chap and very generous portions of piggy bits.

Dude putting pig parts in bowl, note siew yoke; Hard boiled duck eggs, pig skin and pig parts.

In goes the soup; Bowl of Guay Jub.

Poj Spa Kar (Royal Thai Food)

Poj Spa Kar is on 443 Tanao Rd, perpendicular to Khao San Rd. The owners are from a line of royal chefs - grandpa apparently cooked for the king. Tanao Rd is quite a long stretch, the restaurant is located a few shops before the intersection to Sao Ching Cha.

It's a very humble eatery, considering the menu was once fit for a king. The owners didn't speak English. So we pointed at the menu and ordered the stuff we remembered from the website about non-touristy sites and food. What we thought were steamed little fish paste balls on a bed of seaweed in the picture, turned out to be crispy fried fish under a bed of deep-fried kale leaves, topped with dollops of lime mayonnaise. LY looked disappointed that it wasn't what we imagined, but it was delicious anyhow. Sweet, fried fillets of fish, crispy fragrant kale and tangy lime mayo made a lovely combination.

We ordered their signature Look Rock Soup. Steamed egg tofu in a sausage casing, which created little mini burger-like bites of tofu, in a tasty soup with minced pork balls, mushrooms and coriander leaves. Light and wholesome.

There was also a 3-flavoured fried rice, served with some chicken bits in a sweet, gooey sauce almost similiar to our lobak sauce. The rice were tomato (I think) and raisin, turmeric, and garlic flavoured. Interesting, but not all that spectacular. Still, I would say this was one of the more unique meals we had. Reasonably priced too.

Thipsamai

Take the BTS to Saphan Taksin, and hop on a river ferry to Chang pier. Take a tuk-tuk to 313 Maha Chai Rd, Samranrat, and you'll get to Thipsamai, where they say you can get Bangkok's best Pad Thai, Nam Song and frozen coconut juice.

Thipsamai's blazing woks; Pad Thai cooking.

Thipsamai (yes, they have a website!) has a small menu so we ordered 2 different types of Pad Thai and their two famous drinks. The pad thai was yummy, generous with the egg and dried prawns, chives and sprouts (25 or 30 baht depending on type of noodles). You could add prawns or order some different version for 60 baht.

Thipsamai Pad Thai; Nam Song; Frozen Coconut Juice.

Chotechitr

Chotechitr, in a quiet little part of town.

Chotechitr is a small, charming little place in Phraeng Phuton, a little lane off Tanao Road near the Democracy Monument. It's very easy to miss if you just happen to pass by. Famous for their banana flower salad, many a foreign and local journalist have sung praises about it, as evident in the newspaper cut-outs displayed on the wall.

Chotechitr - note the little fella at our table; Banana flower salad.

The salad was quite different, with a smokey chilli and peanuty flavoured sauce. We also ordered a fish tom yam (tom yam pla) and a green curry chicken. The tomyam didn't quite taste like tom yam. The clear soup was flavourful, but more from the fermented soy beans they used. It was spicy from the chili padi, and sour from lime, but not the tom yam that we're used to. Very different.

Tom Yam Pla; Green Curry Chicken.

The green curry was a little sweet for our taste buds, but the whole meal tasted very home made. We were already stuffed from pad thai earlier, so we ended up taking away the left overs (we had quite a bit) and having it for breakfast the next day.

Two carpets; The sleeping Chotechitr Chihuahua.

Oh, the owner had two mascots of her own. Her very friendly shih tzu. And her little sleeping chihuahua under her table.

SILOM - Bangrak & Silom Rd

Thip Volcanic Mussels & Oysters

Take a BTS ride to Saphan Taksin, then a short walk along one of the main roads, Charoen Krung 50, and turn left before the Bangrak Robinson mall. It's a little shop which also sells fish ball noodles.

We ordered the mussels and oysters of course, and just as we suspected, it really was a lot like 'or chien'. But unlike its Malaysian counterpart, it's not just an oyster omelette. The batter dough is fried separately first, giving it alot of crispy bits, along with bean sprouts, mussels, the eggy omelette bit added to it, then a heap of oysters on top of that. Yummy.

Grilled Pork & Liver Satay at Silom Road

At the junction of Silom Rd and Soi Convent, are many stalls selling alot of street food. Right in front of the California Fitness gym is a stall selling grilled pork and liver satays, served with sweet chilli sauce. They sell alot of these in other parts of Bangkok, but for some strange reason, the website recommending the top 100 places to eat mentioned this one. It was pretty alright, though I felt the liver was a bit overdone. Tasty, in a very junk food kinda way. No pictures yet! They're in LY's camera.

SIAM - Siam House, Siam Center, Siam Paragon & Platinum

Siam House

Located along a row of shops next to Asia Hotel (Ratchetewi BTS), this little shop serves delicious Thai food. Recommended by JH last year, this is our second time eating at this place. From standard favourites like curries and tom yam to fish cakes, they do them well. My favourite is the deep fried catfish. Super fluffy and crispy and comes with a little tangy mango salad. LY likes the spicy pork salad and dry chicken red curry.

They have an extensive menu, and is a place you can go back to again and again for food that tastes like yummy home-cooked dishes. From the Asia Hotel entrance, turn left, walk a few steps and you should see it.

Siam Center 'Food For Fun' Food Court

We checked out the Siam Center Food For Fun food court, which was on our 'To Eat' list. It was spacious, modern and comfortable, but the food was only so-so. The food court at Platinum was heaps better in terms of variety and price.

Siam Paragon

The food court looks really impressive, with aquariums and swimming fish. The variety and food however, were quite disappointing. Especially the variety (or lack of it). Pricey, too.

However, its Gourmet Market is amazing. Lots of different snacks, and ice cream and bakeries and tea and foodstuffs you can bring home. It's quite a huge area. And if you love supermarkets, you'll fall in love with this place.

Platinum Food Court (Platinum Mall, Pratunam, Petchaburi Rd)

I love this food court. Great variety, lots of stuff you won't find in other food courts. Like this tau fu fa (soybean curd) in ginger tea. The tau fu fa here is served with crispy bits, something like mini yao char koay (crullers). The ginger tea was warming to the tummy. So comforting. Not to sweet. So delicious. I went back to the stall to try the herbal jelly (like our kwai ling gao) in ginger tea. It was okay. The ginger tea and tau fu fa combo was much nicer. Another interesting dessert was this grilled banana, which they flatten out on a skewer before serving. It was nice on its own. The dip that came with was kinda weird - a savoury tamarind-like sauce.

Tau fu fa with ginger tea, Herbal jelly with ginger tea, Grilled smacked bananas with weird tasting dip.

Oh, of course we had mains. LY tried the beef noodles here while I had the braised duck noodles. They tasted better than the ones at Siam Center. We only had so many stomachs so we couldn't try everything here, but among the other stuff you could eat - braised pork knuckle and fried pork with rice, Thai-style economy rice, different types of noodles (fried/soup/with pork, chicken or seafood), fried oysters and mussles (like or chien), mango and papaya salads, a Halal section, Japanese, more Thai desserts, a stall selling milk products, bread and the list goes on.

SUKHUMVIT - Sukhumvit 33 & 34

Chokchai Steak House

From Asok BTS, it's quite a long walk to Sukhumvit 33, so you might want to take a tuk-tuk or a cab. On foot, it's about 100-200m to Sukuhumvit 33, turn left and it's another 500-600m in. The steakhouse is located at Prasanmit Plaza, a really nice place, and the steaks are amazing.

The beef is dry aged (you could choose between 15 or 30 days), and come from their own farm, Farm Chokchai. You could even go there for a homestay, and learn how to make your own ice cream from their cow's milk. How cool is that? We didn't know about this earlier though, or we might have gone.

LY and I both ordered the 15-day dry aged prime rib, junior size (a smaller cut)... medium rare, of course. Anything less red and the cow would have died in vain. It came with some brown sauce, a baked potato with sour cream, onion and bacon bits, as well as some steamed veges (carrots, beans and radish). It was SO DAMN good. And at 280 baht, it's a freaking steal. You could also opt for the 30-day dry aged (double the price), and if beef is not your thing, they also have pork (chops, ribs, the works), chicken and even tuna steaks.

We finished off our meal with some coffee and their homemade ice-cream (rum and raisin) from their farm. Lovely lovely. A very satisfying meal indeed.

Amaltery Adult Ice Cream

Take the BTS to Phrom Phrong station, it's quite a walk down Sukhumvit 34, which reminded me very much of Mont Kiara. Lots of nice apartments with a few boutique retail shops in between. One such retail area is Camp Davis, which has a Starbucks and another recommended place to eat, Yum & Tum. But we were there for the ice cream.

If you want to try Amaltery the next time you're in Bangkok, they are moving end of this month to Urban Kitchen in Erawan on Ploenchit Rd. It's very near the Chitlom BTS, in one of the fancy plazas. Oh, back to the ice cream. They had lots of yummy flavours such as Margarita, Long Island Tea, Midori Sour, Blue Vodka, Banana Daiquiri, Chocolate and Cherry Brandy, just to name a few I can remember. We had the Margarita, Long Island Tea, Midori Sour and Banana Daiquiri. Super lovely! Especially after that long walk in!

For more about this holiday, click here.
If you'd like my full 'To Eat' list, just drop me a note :)

The perfect greasy non-kosher breakfast

2007-04-17T18:01:00.001+08:00

OK, I know I'm a lousy foodie blogger, if I can even call myself one, when:

1) I don't bring my camera to take photos (batteries dead!)
2) I can't give you proper directions on how to get there
3) I can't remember everything on the menu, despite my annoying menu reading habit*

*At a new restaurant, I tend to flip through the menu over and over again while waiting for the food to arrive. I read the descriptions, as if trying to memorise them, knowing very well I won't remember much. But there's just something about reading menus (especially if there are pictures) that really make me happy, and I always like to keep a copy on the table. Sometimes you have to pry it out of my hands or there won't be much of a conversation. Heehee.

My criteria for the perfect breakfast would be:
1) Good coffee
2) Bacon, and I don't mean shrivelled up pathetic pieces. Or worse, *shock horrors*, beef bacon. Oh lard, forgive me...
3) Sausage / ham
4) Sauteed mushrooms, and only fresh mushrooms sauteed in butter/bacon fat
5) Eggs, sunny side up x 2
6) Baked beans
7) Toast & butter
8) Grilled tomato
9) Juice

Now, don't get me wrong..
Some places serve really good breakfasts with beef bacon *makes the sign of the pig*, but it just ain't the real deal without Elmer Fudd.

So this rules out the breakfast at La Bodega (about RM30 for the whole works). Very yummy. But kosher.

Out next, Pizza Uno. Cheaper than La Bodega (about RM16, if I remember correctly), but boy, do they stinge on the portions. I got barely a ~~mouthful~~ spoonful of mushrooms! And kosher, so nuh-uh.

Now, pork lovers...

Wendy's Bistro, Sunway Mentari
On the same row as the popular steamboat places, it's quite hard to miss. They serve a great breakfast, and you can choose between streaky or back bacon, and chicken or beef or pork sausage. How's that for choice? I remember the breakfast was rather good value for money (I can't remember the price now), and delicious too. I'll probably go there again one day and find out the prices for you. They've got a pretty extensive menu, so do check it out. Only thing freaky about it is, the front two pages sounded like some kinda self-motivational "I've-been-to-a-brainwashing-seminar" type of propaganda. Hee.

Fogel Meat Market, Plaza Damas
LY told me about this little eatery in Plaza Damas sometime ago, but I never got round to going until 2 weeks ago. Step right in and a variety of bacons, hams, steaks, chops and other carnivorous grub will greet you. They look very fresh. And the place smells very much like the nice clean butcheries in Australia. Of course, the smell of meat grilling added to the olfactory-memory triggering. Sigh... Aussie meat. Oh, by the way, this joint IS owned by an Aussie.

Good news. The food is OH-MY-GAWD fantastic.
Bad news. It's rather expensive.

That said, it was packed on a weekend brunch.
We were told to come back in 1/2 hour to get a table.
Wahliao.

The big breakfast platter (RM35) has generous portions of everything. Enough to feed two.

VERY GOOD bacon (I prefer streaky, but their back bacon was anything but tough). 2 sausages (we chose lamb and pork), 2 grilled tomatoes, 2 small pieces of grilled beef steak, toast with butter, and a generous mountain of mushrooms. Wow. In one huge plate too.

Of course, now I'm not sure if they made a mistake.
You see, when the bill came, they charged me for TWO platters.
When I said I only ordered one, they happily deducted one platter from the bill. But I'm really wondering if there were 2 portions of the "big breakfast platter" on that giant plate we shared (the tables for two were small, so it made sense to have one giant plate vs two big plates).

Will go again and order it to see if one serving gets me all I mentioned above. Cos if that's the case, RM35 for all that is freaking AMAZING! But oh, drinks were not part of the deal. Juices were RM6 each but freshly squeezed and yummy. Coffee was about that price as well me thinks.

They have a really nice meaty menu. From steaks to chops to Aussie pies to kebabs to sandwiches to burgers. Very nice lor! Where is it? It's on the same road as Yogazone. Say, Yogazone is on your left. Walk down the street and you'll see Fogel on your right.

:@)

Heard there's another porky-friendly breakfast place called Jarrod n Rawlings in Damansara Heights. Maybe I'll check that out soon. And probably revisit Wendy's and Fogel's soon. If only just to eat and take some pictures.

Oinkers, unite!

5 Things To Eat Before I Die

2006-12-07T19:42:00.000+08:00

This meme is inspired by this post at Cook And Eat. Here's my list... a far from conclusive one.

1. Truffles. Apparently worth it's weight in gold, this very special funghi looks like animal droppings. Yet gourmands say it's nothing short of heaven and best eaten raw, shaved on freshly cooked pasta with olive oil.

2. Wagyu Beef. They say it's the ultimate in all things meat. You can find Wagyu Beef at some 5-star restaurants in Malaysia. At RM300 a pop, it must be one helluva cow.

3. Pizza. In Rome. But I'll have to get myself into Rome first. Sigh.

4. A Turducken. Read Tur-duc-ken, not Turd-uck-en. A chicken in a duck in turkey. It sounds super scary, but golly, it must taste fantastic! Whoa... Bird flu? What bird flu?

5. Fugu. I'll have to fly all the way to Japan for this. And it'll probably be the last thing I eat. Hahaha.

Who to tag? Who to tag?
If you consider yourself an oinker, YOU'RE TAGGED!

Food Foundry

2006-11-24T18:12:00.000+08:00

So I haven't been posting here for some time cos:

a) I haven't been cooking or baking very much, thanks to lack of time, laziness and my wonky oven. It's fixed now, but makes a scary humming noise, like it could explode any moment. Looks like I'll have to skip the roast turkey this Christmas and stick to short baking projects. Maybe a cake or a pie.

b) I haven't been eating out anywhere new or anywhere spectacular. The best food I'd eaten in the past few months was in Hong Kong, which I blogged about at my other blog.

But last week, some friends and I went to Food Foundry to celebrate Box's birthday. It's my second time there, and apart from their Mille Crepe and Illy coffee, I don't find their food all that great.

Their pastas are so so. Average, if not below average. The local dishes are also average. As are their tapas. The Mille Crepe, however, WHOA, it's great stuff. I tried the original and green tea flavours the first time I was there. And they were both lovely, though I prefered the original version. The cream in between layers of crepe had just a hint vanilla. Yummy.

On my recent visit, I tried the strawberry version, which is now my favourite. They alternated the cream layers with strawberry jam layers. It's so yummy I can't describe it. So I'll just leave you with a picture.

The flavour I'm yet to try is the chocolate one.
Next time, for sure.

This place is quite a nice cosy place to hang out in on a cool night or late morning :) Oh, did I mention they make really good coffee?

Biscotti Italiana

2006-09-03T20:23:00.000+08:00

I made this today at LY's sister's place after my trusty oven died on me.

I found this recipe online, but adapted it a little bit because the portions seemed too small and it asked for orange extract. Not a fan of bottled flavourings when there's a natural alternative, I replaced it with grated orange rind instead.

I absolutely love the aniseed in the recipe.
Adds a nice bite, flavour-wise, to it.

The batter was softer than what I thought it should be, though.
So it wasn't exactly easy to 'shape' into a proper oval or rectangle. I tried to spread it into shape as evenly as I could (don't let it spread out too thin). It spreads during baking too, so give it some space.

Italian Biscotti

2 cups granulated sugar
6 eggs
1/2 cup butter, melted
2 teaspoon aniseed, lightly crushed
Grated rind of 2 oranges
4 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 cup whole unblanched almonds

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F / 180 degrees C.

Beat sugar and eggs together until creamy. Beat in melted butter, aniseed, and orange rind.

Mix together flour and baking powder. Add to batter abit at a time and beat until evenly mixed. Stir in the nuts.

Place the batter in the refrigerator and chill for at least 1 hour. (The chilled batter can be kept refrigerated for up to 3 days.)

Shape the batter into TWO 9 x 6-inch oval 1 1/2 inches thick and place on an ungreased baking sheet on a baking tray. Sprinkle some aniseed over for decoration and flavour.

Bake for 25 minutes, or until firm and lightly browned. Remove tray from the oven and cool slightly.

Transfer the 'cake' to a cutting board (or cut on the baking pan itself if you're confident) and slice into 1/2-inch thick pieces.

Arrange, cut side down, on the baking sheet and return to the oven. Bake an additional 10-15 minutes. Repeat on the other side.

Let cool and store in air tight container.
Great with freshly brewed coffee (especially if it's black).

Makes 30 generous pieces.

Seafood BBQ for 12

2006-08-09T20:03:00.000+08:00

The recipes are adapted from various sources such as kuali.com and food magazines. I've added or remove a few things to my own fancy. Some recipes are courtesy of YL.

The prawns we had were large prawns. We simply rinsed them and cut the sharp bits on the heads and tails off with a pair of kitchen scissors. Then it's straight on the fire. Brush some olive oil over if you like but if you have fresh lovely seafood, it's best au naturel!

Stuffed Selar Fish with Sambal

Ingredients
12 Selar Fish (Cencaru also can)
Salt
Turmeric powder
3 pcs banana leaf
1 pc aluminum foil
Oil for shallow frying

Stuffing
10 shallots (those small red onions)
8 cloves garlic
5 tbsp chilli paste
2 tsp Maggi belacan stock granules
3 tbsp dried prawns, soaked and drained
2 stalks lemon grass

Method
Pound (or blend in food processor) all stuffing ingredients (except chilli paste) until fine. Heat oil and fry the pounded ingredients with chilli paste until fragrant. Dish out and set aside to cool slightly.

Gut and wash the fish well. Wipe dry and rub salt and turmeric powder all over and in the gut. Cut a slit at the top of the fish to form 'pockets' on each side of the fish. Stuff equal amounts of stuffing into the slits in all the fish.

Heat a non-stick pan with a little oil and shallow-fry the fish on both sides for 1 – 2 minutes. Dish out and place on the aluminium foil, lined with a piece of banana leaf. Wrap up each fish neatly.

BBQ for 10-15 mins.

Assam Pedas Dory Fish Parcels

Ingredients
1 800g packet frozen dory (3 fillets)
Thaw and cut each filet into 3 pcs, marinade in juice of 1/2 lemon, olive oil, and 1/2 tsp of salt.
Aluminium Foil

Assam Pedas Sauce (can be used as sauce for steam fish or fried/grilled fish
2 stalks lemon grass, smashed
2 sprigs polygonum (daun kesom)
1/2 tsp Maggi belacan granules
l 1/2 cups tamarind juice (from 150gm asam jawa packet)
Juice from 4 small limes
Salt and sugar to taste
(I used about 4 tbsp of brown sugar and 1 tsp salt)
1 bunga kantan, thinly sliced

Ground (or blend) finely:
12 to 15 red chillies
10 shallots
2 cloves garlic
l.5cm fresh tumeric

Method
Fry lemon grass and ground ingredients until aromatic. Add daun kesom and tamarind juice. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for five minutes. Add lime juice, sugar and salt to taste. Remove from heat. Mix in thinly sliced bunga kantan right before using.

Cut aluminium foil into squares. Place fish in the middle. Spoon a generous dollop of sauce. Wrap securely. Makes 9

Lemon Butter & Dill Dory Fish Parcels

Ingredients
1 800g packet frozen dory (3 fillets) but fresh fish fillet is recommended for this recipe. Thaw and cut each filet into 3 pcs, marinade in juice of 1/2 lemon, olive oil, and 1/2 tsp of salt.

Salted butter, slice 1cm squares from a 250g block
Thin slices of lemon
Fresh dill

Aluminium Foil

Method
Cut aluminium foil into squares. Place butter slice in middle. Place fish fillet on top. One small sprig of dill. A slice of lemon. Then another sprig of dill. Wrap securely. Makes 9.

Stuffed Squid with Curried Potato Masala

Ingredients
6 large squid, cleaned and skinned,
Save the squid wings and heads (remove eyes)
If using smaller squid (12 small-medium size), save only the heads (remove eyes).

Turmeric powder
Salt

Filling
4 potatoes, diced into small cubes
4–6 tbsp oil
4 onions, diced
1 tsp chopped garlic
6 tbsp meat curry powder
2 sprig curry leaves
4cm piece cinnamon stick
1 star anise, 1 cardamom pod, fennel seeds
Salt and sugar to taste
2 tbsp oyster sauce
A dash of pepper

Method
If using large squid, cut in half. Marinate squid tubes, wings and heads with salt and turmeric powder.

For the filling: Heat oil in a wok and fry garlic until fragrant. Add onion, cinnamon stick, star anise, cardamom pod, fennel leaves and curry leaves. When spices are fragrant add meat curry powder and potatoes. Add just enough water to cover the potatoes. Cook over a medium low heat until potatoes are done. Add salt, sugar, pepper and oyster sauce to taste.

Stuff into squid tubes and secure with skewers. BBQ over fire for 5-10 minutes.

In banana leaf, mix large squid 'wings' and heads with leftover potato stuffing. Wrap securely in foil and BBQ for 5-10 minutes.

Vegetables with Garlic Oil
(YL's recipe)

Ingredients
Broccoli, break into florets
Japanese sweet potatoes, peeled
12 whole portabello mushrooms (2 packets)
Oyster mushrooms
Cherry tomatoes

A few cloves of garlic, finely minced and mixed into olive oil.
Salt to taste

Method
Brush vegetables with garlic oil and sprinkle with salt to taste.

New Potato Salad
(YL's recipe)

Ingredients
One pack new potatoes.
Mint
2 cloves garlic, pounded
2 - 3 tbsp grain mustard
Chives, chopped
Spring onion, chopped
Juice from 1 lemon
Extra virgin olive oil
Black Pepper
Salt to taste

Method
Boil potatoes with mint leaves and salt. Peel.
For dressing - Mix pounded garlic with lemon juice, grain mustard and black pepper. Add extra virgin olive oil to make a runny dressing. Stir into potatoes while its still warm. Then mix in chopped chives and spring onions. Salt to taste.

Stinkbomb Cake

2006-05-04T15:53:00.000+08:00

For the uninitiated, the durian is Malaysia's King of Fruits. Smells like heaven to some. A rotting corpse, to others. It IS an acquired taste, but I know more admirers than haters.

Outside Malaysia and Thailand, the durian is outrageously expensive (and frozen or freeze-dried, what sacrilege!). While Thai durians are known to be big and fleshy, I personally prefer local Malaysian durians, especially the durian kampung or village durian. They're smaller and probably less fleshy, but way superior in flavour. Maybe it's because they're not harvested from the tree. Villagers wait for the fruit to drop to the ground before collecting them for sale.

Anyway, back to the stinkbomb.

Stinkbomb Cake

Ingredients
250g butter
1 cup sugar
4 eggs
Durian, approximately 300g (I bought the de-shelled durian sold in packs from Giant. Get the RM9.99 pack. There should be at least 8-10 decent sized fleshy seeds. Some recipes call for less durian, but bah, the more stinky the better, I say)
2 cups self-raising floor + 2 tablespoons plain flour, sifted
2 tablespoons milk
1 1/2 cup whipping cream
2 tablespoons sugar

Method

Remove flesh from durian seeds into a bowl. Using a spoon, mash durian flesh with abit of milk to a form a thick paste.

Preheat oven to 170'C.
Cream butter and sugar until fluffy in a cake mixer.

Add eggs one at a time until evenly mixed.
Then half the durian paste and mix evenly.

Add the flour and mix until batter is smooth.
Pour into an 8" round cake tin.

Bake in 170'C oven for 45-50 minutes.
Let it cool (this will take a few hours).

Meanwhile, clean mixer bowl and wipe dry.
Pour whipping cream into cake mixer bowl and whip until soft peaks form (make sure it's nice and really thick). Spoon this into remaining durian paste in the bowl and stir until evenly mixed. Chuck durian cream into the fridge for later. Be warned, it will stink up your fridge.

Durian cream and cake

When cake is cool, spread cold durian cream all over the top and sides. Use the back part of a spoon to dab spots on the cream to create little peaks all over.

Oooh, the smell. But no one complained. Hah!

Tiramisu

2006-05-01T11:40:00.000+08:00

I made this once about two years ago, but it didn't turn out very well (the mascaporne cream was too runny). I probably used an egg too many back then.

This time however, it was quite a success. And I even decorated it with extra sponge fingers like a charlotte. It is for a party after all, and I wanted it to look nice.

I adapted the recipe I had in hand, substituting marsala for rum (you could also use brandy), and using three eggs instead of four.

Tiramisu

400g sponge fingers (you'll have some leftover after this, and it's delicious with coffee)
3 eggs (separated)
5 tablespoons sugar
1 tub mascaporne (250ml)
1/2 block of Philadephia Kraft Cream Cheese
Cocoa powder to dust

Combine and let cool:
2 cups strong black coffee
6 tablespoons rum (more or less to taste)

Method
Use a 9" springform pan. Cut sponge fingers in half and arrange it standing around the rim of the springform pan. Make sure they're of the same length (I got lazy so charlotte effect had inconsistent heights).

Beat egg whites with 2 tablespoons sugar in mixer until stiff peaks form. Set aside.

Cream egg yolks with 3 tablespoons sugar. Gradually add mascaporne until smooth. Then the cream cheese. Finally, fold in the beaten egg white and sugar mixture until smooth and creamy.

Soak the rest of the sponge fingers in coffee and rum mixture but don't let it get too soggy (I made the mistake of letting it soak right through). Arrange soaked fingers on the base of pan in a layer.

Pour half the cream mixture and spread evenly. Add another layer of soaked fingers, and top with another layer of cream mixture.

Dust with a thick layer of cocoa powder. Chill in the fridge for a few hours or overnight. This lets the flavour develop too.

Ready for the fridge.

Before serving, undo the springform pan, but you can serve the tiramisu on the base. Yummers, if I do say so myself.

Sacher Torte & baking projects

2006-04-24T10:02:00.000+08:00

I made a Sacher Torte for D's birthday last week.
It turned out pretty decent. But instead of apricot or plum jam as suggested by the recipe (to sandwich the cake), I used orange marmalade (spiked with a bit of rum, haha). It gave a little zing to the overall taste (I've always liked an orange-choc combo). But being a purist when it comes to these things, I think I'd prefer it with apricot or plum jam.

Cutting the cake in half was the scariest part. I kept worrying the cake would break. But it didn't. So I'd definitely try this again, because it's yummy. Maybe without the chocolate ganache though, which I found too chocolatey (I hear gasps of disbelief).

Ingredients:
100g dark chocolate, melted with a cup of water (I used milk)
in a glass bowl over simmering water,
125g butter
1 1/2 self-raising flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1 cup brown sugar
60g almond meal
3 large eggs
apricot/plum jam (or marmalade if you want more zing)

Ganache:
200g dark chocolate
1/3 cup cream
50g butter

Method:
Cream butter and brown sugar in a mixer. Add eggs one at a time. Sift in half the flour and cocoa. Then pour in half the melted chocolate. Sift in remainder of flour and cocoa, then the rest of the melted chocolate. Add almond meal.

Baked in greased, lined 9" pan for 1 hour 15 minutes, 160'C or moderate low oven.

When ready, let stand for 15 minutes before removing from pan, and cool for at least 2 hours.

Make ganache by melting all ingredients together (in a glass bowl over hot simmering water in a sauce pan).

Slice cool cake in half horizontally. Sandwich with jam (heat it for 20 seconds in the microwave first).

Pour half the ganache over cake and spread evenly to cover the sides. Then pour rest of ganache on the top of cake, letting it dribble down the sides.

Serve. Can last in fridge for up to a week.

D brought some left over cake to his colleagues and they enjoyed it.
Yipppeeeddooo!

Next baking project - a Tiramisu for D's apartment-warming this weekend.

And blueberry muffins, for Geekchic's visit this Saturday before she flies off to her much long overdue holiday.

Next week, a durian cake for a colleague's farewell (he loves durians) - I plan to make a durian butter cake, cut it in half (ala Sacher Torte), and sandwich with durian cream, made from whipping cream and durian pulp (more pulp than cream). Bon-bon in Damansara Jaya makes a nice one with sponge, but I find the sponge too dry and the durian cream, more cream than durian.

In June, I'll try the Nigella chocolate espresso recipe, courtesy of Snowie.

And after that a pumpkin pie.
Just because.

All the ingredients are in my kitchen.
So when I'm in the mood to bake, I can.
Whoooohoooo!

Cherry Ripe Chocolate Cake (adapted)

2006-03-07T09:58:00.000+08:00

One of the things I remember fondly from my short time in Australia, is a chocolate bar called Cherry Ripe. A cherry and coconut confection wrapped in dark chocolate. It's so darn addictive.

Cherry Ripe happens to be my brother's favourite chocolate bar and because it was his birthday yesterday (and me being such a nice sister, ahem), I decided to adapt a chocolate cake recipe into a Cherry Ripe Chocolate Cake.

They don't sell Cherry Ripe in Malaysia (except on rare occasions at Cold Storage in Bangsar Shopping Complex). But I don't need the chocolate bars for this remarkably easy recipe anyway, so here goes.

The cake
200gm cooking chocolate (the better quality ones like Lindt 70% taste better, of course)
125gm butter (half a block)
2 eggs, beaten
1 1/3 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar

The topping
300gm glace red cherries (2 small boxes), chopped
1 cup dessicated coconut
1 egg + 1 egg white

The chocolate ganache on top
150gm cooking chocolate + 50gm butter (to make chocolate ganache for topping)

Grease and line a 9" square cake pan (or smaller if you want a thicker cake) with baking paper.

Melt the chocolate and butter together in a glass bowl over simmering water in a sauce pot.

Stir in the sugar, beaten eggs, then sift in the flour gradually. Pour into cake pan.

Mix cherries and coconut with egg and extra egg white evenly in a bowl.

Spoon Cherry-Coconut topping evenly on top. Press down gently.

Bake in 180'C oven for 30-35 minutes.

When done, melt extra cooking chocolate and butter in glass bowl over simmer water again. Let cool. Drizzle over cake.

Nice served warm, but it'll hold better if served after doing some time in the fridge.

Note: This makes a thin layer of chocolate cake at the bottom, so it's probably more of a slice than a cake. But the thin layer balances the cherry-coconut topping just nicely. Too much of either chocolate cake or topping would be quite cloying. I reckon this could work with a Brownie recipe as the chocolate base, though it won't be as moist as this one.

Almost obsessive

2006-03-01T11:38:00.000+08:00

Look what I bought last week.

It's NOT a Kitchen Aid...

(Oooh, the red one is such a beauty)

...which is what many famous chefs and hardcore food bloggers) use. But hey, at one tenth of the price of a KA, I'll have to make do.

My less glamourous mixer is a local make (Faber) with a stainless steel bowl, handle and a black plastic body. It's quite sturdy, and for the price I paid (RM129.90), I'm not complaining.

I only started building up my arsenal of baking tools early last year, when I started baking again. It's still a small (pfft!) collection, and I currently have:

- A 9" springform round non-stick pan
- A 9" square non-stick cake pan
- A deep loaf tin
- A 9" ceramic pie dish
- A 12" aluminium round cake pan
- A 6-hole muffin tray (large muffins)
- Stainless steel measuring spoons
- Plastic measuring cups
- A pineapple tart mould
- Icing pipes & bag
- Plastic mixing bowls in 3 sizes
- Multi-graters
- A balloon hand-whisk

What I plan to add on in the near future:
- A 12-hole muffin tray (smaller muffins)
- Biscuit / cookie cutters
- Ramekins (for chocolate volcanoes!)
- Individual tart moulds
- A rolling pin (yes, I don't have one)
- Pie weights (to blind bake pies)
- A Bundt, Ring and a Tube pan (for chiffon cake)

Anyway, back to the mixer. I officiated it by baking an alcoholic rummy fruit cake. Which is now nicely wrapped and sitting in the fridge (they say it tastes better after a little wait). So I dunno how it turned out. May cut a bit to try this weekend. Heh.

It's my brother's birthday next week. So another cake is in the making. He loves Cherry Ripe, a glace cherry and coconut chocolate bar, so I'll try to improvise a chocolate cake with cherries and coconut for him. Experiment lah, see apa jadi.

Pineapple Tarts

2006-01-23T09:25:00.000+08:00

For years I've been wanting to make my aunt's kickass pineapple tarts. Her delicious lightly spiced jam and buttery light shortcrust pastry, in my opinion, are the best in the world! Haha.

So I finally got down to it on Saturday, after running around one bakery supply after another to find the frilly tart mould. One problem with my aunt's tart recipe... there are no 'proper' measurements. Here's her rough recipe guide.

Ku mah, how much sugar to pineapple ah?

"Roughly one cup of sugar to two cups of pineapple. Then you put in cinnamon stick, star anise and cloves."

How many?

"Roughly 1 cinnamon stick, 1 star anise and 2-3 cloves."

Roughly? Er. Ok. The pastry how?

"I don't measure wan la. One block of butter you just put enough flour until the dough doesn't stick to your hand. Make sure you put 1 tsp salt into the egg when you beat it before you mix it with the dough. If too sticky cannot cut with the mould then you add more flour lah. Little bit at a time because too much flour the pastry too hard not nice. So you agak-agak (make a guess) lah."

Er. Ok.

I used one not-too-ripe pineapple, chopped (not too finely) in a food processor and drained the juice. Then I cooked the pineapple pulp with sugar and the spices until dry, but my aunt said not too dry cos baking in the oven will dry up the jam a little as well. I made the jam the night before so I wouldn't have too much to do and clean up the next day. Putting the jam in the fridge made it easier to shape the it later.

The jam was relatively easy.
The pastry, THAT was quite a pain.

Without measurements, I mixed the ingredients, rolled, cut and added more flour at least 5 times before the dough would stop sticking to the mould. But once that was done, and the jam rolled into little balls and put on the pastry, it wasn't long before the tarts were ready. Just 20 minutes in a 180'C oven.

The verdict:

Eaten right after it came out from the oven, the pastry was a bit on the dry side. But eaten next day when it softened a little, it was just nice.

The taste's all there. And the pastry texture was light, though not as light as my aunt's. I think next time I'll use less flour, and let the dough rest in the fridge for abit before I cut the pastry with the mould. That way I won't have to keep adding flour just to prevent it from sticking. AND next time I'll consciously measure the quantities. So I'll know how much flour to use.

In a nutshell, here's the equation:

1 pineapple (made into jam with sugar (2:1 pineapple to sugar), 1 cinnamon stick, 1 star anise and 3 cloves

+

1 block butter (250gm), enough flour, 1 tsp salt and 1 egg

= Makes about 86 tarts.

Christmas Feast 2005

2005-12-19T20:22:00.000+08:00

The menu:
~ Fresh Mushroom Soup
~ Mesclun Salad with Roasted Garlic Balsamic Vinaigrette
~ Garlic Mashed Potatoes
~ Roast Turkey with Sausage, Sage & Onion Stuffing
~ Chocolate Volcano with Vanilla Ice Cream
~ Cranberry Cooler
~ Shiraz, Wyndham Estate Bin 555 2002

Kinda early for a Christmas dinner, but necessary knowing how insanely hectic Christmas Day itself could be.

Even yesterday (Sunday), I was running behind schedule with the food. We only started eating at 8.30pm (dinner was planned for 7.30).

It's the TURKEY's fault.
I saw the frozen birds at Carrefour, Midvalley going at RM12.90 per kg, two weeks ago. But guess what, they were all sold out when I went there on Saturday. And at most places, the birds were too big (above 6kg). I wanted a 3-4kg bird.

So yesterday morning, I went on a mad turkey chase and finally found a place with smaller birds. But the smallest were at least 5kg or just slightly under. And at RM15.90 per kg too. Oh well. Not like I had a choice. So I bought two (one of last night, and one for JH's party coming Friday).

From 11.00am:

1. The turkey. It took several hours in a water bath to defrost it.

2. The stuffing. Because I was running late, I had to cook the turkey sans stuffing (which saved me an hour). So I cooked this separately, and gave it some turkey flavour with stock made by boiling the bird's giblets and neck.

3. The roasting. I read that covering the breast with bacon keeps the breast moist. So I tried that and it made the bird look rather interesting. Into the oven it went for 4 hours. Did that tip work? More on that later.

4. The mash. I boiled the potatoes and roasted a clove of garlic.
Then I mashed them with butter and cream before leaving it in the fridge (it was still early).

5. The soup. I sliced the mushrooms, cooked them in butter with chopped onions till soft, addded chicken stock and pureed half the pot in the blender (so that there were fine mushroom bits as well as juicy slices). A dash of cream and I left it to simmer.

6. Dessert. At this point, it was already 7pm. I quickly melted the chocolate in a bowl over a hot bath (the bowl, not me, though I desperately needed one at that point). Then I creamed the butter and sugar, added eggs and flour, a dash of rum, and folded them into the chocolate evenly. Then into the muffin tray it went (I wanted to get ramekin dishes but didn't have time!).

7. The salad. The pre-packed salad leaves went into my salad bowl with cherry tomatoes and sliced onions. For dressing, I mashed a clove of roasted garlic into olive oil and stirred in balsamic vinegar with a pinch of salt. My favourite vinaigrette.

8. The drinks. It was a very very hot day. And keeping with the festive season, I mixed half a jug each of cranberry juice and 7-up. Juice from half a lemon, ice and we had a jug of Cranberry Cooler (copied this from Dome's menu).

9. The gravy. When turkey was ready, it was placed on a serving dish and garnished, while the meat juices went to a saucepan, and thickened for gravy.

The verdict:

We were stuffed (quite ironic, considering the turkey wasn't).

The soup was nicest, in my opinion. Maybe it's cos I love soup. And the fresh button and Swiss brown mushrooms made it really earthy and delicious.

The mash didn't turn out as smooth as I hoped it would. And it was perhaps too heavy on the garlic.

The salad was simple to eat. The way I like it.

The turkey and stuffing were okay. And the bit about bacon keeping the breast juicy - A LIE. The breast was like typical roast turkey breast - on the dry side. Maybe I should try roasting it breast down next time. The turkey was tasty though, and the stuffing quite unnecessary. I'd skip it next year.

The volcanoes exploded prematurely again - when I tipped them over. Upset. Even after baking it an extra 2 minutes. I really MUST MUST MUST get it right next time. And buy proper ramekin dishes for it too.

What a day. I was full and exhausted. But it was great fun.
I'm grateful it's only once a year.

Simple joys

2005-12-09T13:14:00.000+08:00

For me, it has to be buttered toast.

Plain white bread. Wholemeal. Multigrain. Rolls.
I simply love them toasted with a thin layer of butter.
Real butter for me, not margarine, thank you very much (I heard it's just a molecule away from plastic!)

If it's the traditional Hainanese bread (thick cut, soft and fluffy), it's wonderful with kaya as well (will post a picture of this soon).

Now, back to plain ol' buttered toast.
White toast brings out the lovely taste of butter.
But I personally prefer buttered wholemeal or multigrain toast.
I like the grainy bits (not to mention it's a healthier option) and the lovely golden smell. And if you pop it into the toaster again after you butter it, it comes out really nice and flaky too.

Actually, there's nothing quite like bread and butter in various forms. I can be quite content with just a meal of soup and fresh bread.

Or buttered toast, of course.

Tengkat Tung Shin (behind Jalan Alor)

2005-11-29T11:58:00.000+08:00

This stretch has lots of wonderful foodie offerings.
From humble shacks to fancy bistros.
The only reason I don't come here often is its scarce parking space.

What's good?
Meng Kee is famous for its kick ass charsiew (BBQ pork) rice. They serve chicken as well but I wouldn't waste stomach space on poultry in this little shop. It is always packed, especialy at lunch on weekdays. If you order more than your fair share of charsiew, be prepared for nasty looks from the owner and other patrons alike. It is that precious.

Ngau Kee Beef Noodles offers really good dry beef noodles (wantan mee style) with a portion of tasty pork mince sauce (the dark slop you see in the picture) and a bowl of mixed beef (beef, beef balls, tripe or any of these on their own). They have the soup noodle version too, but the dry noodles are more flavourful. People say their standards have dropped over the years. I just think it's inconsistent. But the noodles make a good satisfying meal anyway. Plus point, it's open till very very late.

What else is here?
There's La Bodega (a bistro selling tapas and Spanish cuisine), some tourist-trappy looking joints like Sao Nam (a Vietnamese restaurant, good reviews from friends so far) and a few others. El Cerdo (LY's favourite place for desserts and porcine food), is further down the road. And during the day, the Adik Beradik Chua coffeeshop serves up really good noodles for lunch. Fish ball noodles, pork noodles and very nice siew yoke (roast pork) rice.

Nope. You won't go hungry here.

From Switzerland to Argentina (as if)

2005-10-31T18:40:00.000+08:00

It was an indulgent weekend.
First, D and I went to The Fondue Shop, Sri Hartamas
for cheese AND chocolate fondue. Ironically, it's right below the famous TNT Kickboxing school.

I brought my camera, but the lure of the bubbling fondue pot clouded my brain before I could say "Cheese". The fondues were yummy and we were fighting over the bread slices and bigger strawberries. Pity I didn't snap any pictures.

Later that day, I went to a Tango Club party at El Cerdo, Tengkat Tung Shin with LY, her parents and some of their friends. None of us were members, but her parents were regulars at the restaurant. It just sounded like fun to watch some Tango dancers show their stuff, eat delicious porcine food (incidently, El Cerdo means The Pig) and drink FREE-FLOW Argentinian wine. All at RM68++.

Dinner was all-you-can-eat Mexican-Latin American cuisine.
Stuffed And Rolled Beef Flank, Pig Trotters In Vinagrette, Fish Marinated In Lime And Lemon Juice, Avocado Potato Cream Soup, Tortilla Soup, Tortilla Filled With Chorizo Sausage, Fried Pork Filled Tortillas, Baked Meat Pastries, Chicken In Chocolate Chili Sauce, Braised Fresh Ham, Lamb And Vegetable Stew, Pork In Fruit Juice, Red Snapper In Tomato Sauce With Olives, Pineapple Custard, Corn Cake and Mango Mousse.

We had a sampler of everything, and we could have ordered more if we wanted to. But we were so stuffed by the end of the samplers, all we could ask for was another serving of delicious ham. The wine was good as well, and by the time I had my 3rd, er, 4th, er no, 5th... glass, I was all flushed and happy.

The dancers were tango enthusiasts from the Tango Club. And as the lady president would say, tango is a private conversation between a man and a woman. *sweats*

Oh, she's the lady in light blue with the ultra-fit, ultra-hot bod. And guess what, she's 62.

We did abit of dancing at the end as well (not the tango, though).
Now I'm dying to go back to that restaurant for their tiramisu. Highly recommended, and said to be the real thing. Alcohol, the works! (Most tiramisus served in KL are sans kahlua or rum. Sad, sad, sad)

Penang!

2005-10-24T18:38:00.000+08:00

I dare not step on the weighing scale.
It's been non-stop eating for the past 3 days.

The trip started innocently enoughly when D, his granny and I drove off to Penang at 7am.

Then we thought we might as well stop in Ipoh for breakfast (on the way wat). We had dimsum at this shop called Yoke Woh Onn or something like that, near Excelsior Hotel. It was so yummy. The prawns were huge, and the morsels of meat, tasty and juicy. Much cheaper than KL prices I might add.

Before this, the furtherst I'd driven my car was to Ipoh. So driving to Penang was new to me. I had to be super alert! I downed some Ipoh White Coffee and we went on our way.

When we arrived at D's aunt's place, we rested abit before our main agenda: pigging out!

We had pasembor, a Penang salad of shredded radish, cucumber, bean sprouts, prawn fritters, egg and peanut sauce, curry laksa, noodles in spicy, coconut curry, pig's blood jelly (I passed on this), chicken, tofu and long beans, char koay teow, fried flat rice noodles with duck egg, prawns, chives, cockles, garlic and chilli, and popiah, soft spring rolls with radish stew and dried cuttlefish stuffing. Really good stuff. Then we went around hunting for cheap DVDs (RM7 a pop, compared to RM10 in KL).

The next day we had a breakfast of koay chap, a twisty flat noodle in a dark earthy soup, with duck meat and some pig innards. This, is a rare find, even in Penang. And definitely not available in KL. I finished every drop of soup.

We also had ban chien kuih, a thick pancake with peanut and sugar filling, some local kuih (sweet pudding-like things), apom (a thin crispy coconutty crepe) and sugee cake. It was also Mak Ee's (D's aunt, Cheryl's mom) birthday, so there were lots of birthday cake in the house.

For her birthday dinner, we went to the Beach Front, at Batu Feringghi. The place served the best deep fried spring rolls I'd ever tasted. It's so good, they don't allow take-aways for fear of people copying their recipe.

It came in generous portions. Crispy on the outside, flavourful on the inside - finely shredded cabbage, radish, carrot, onion, shallots, crabmeat, mushroom, chicken mince, a hint 5-spice powder and goodness knows what else!

Other stuff we had were assam prawns, sambal belacan veges, seafood tofu and a fish curry. Pak Teow (D's uncle) and I washed them all down with icy cold beer in frosted mugs and toasted to Mak Ee's good health.

Oh my, oh my *rubs belly*.

A natural disaster

2005-08-29T22:20:00.000+08:00

My mom went away for the weekend.
Without her breathing down my neck I had the kitchen to myself! Whooopee!!

So Saturday night's menu was quite a treat:
~ Stuffed Portabello Mushrooms
~ Mesclun Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette
~ Roast Chicken with Pesto, Sage and Onion
~ Walnut Bread
~ Chocolate Volcano with Vanilla Ice Cream

The stuffed mushrooms and chicken turned out good (from improvised recipes at that!)

The Walnut Bread however, had a rather cakey texture and taste. That's one really confused recipe. Found it online, but I wouldn't make it again. Some garlic and herb butter saved it.

Finally, the Chocolate Volcanoes.
They looked promising when they first came out from the oven. But alas, they erupted before time.

The recipe is taken from Nigella's website for Molten Chocolate Babycakes.

I think the baking time should be longer than stated: 10-12 minutes. I baked them for 11 minutes but they cracked and spilled their 'lava' when tipped out from the tin. Bummer.

They tasted yummerlicious though, served warm (out of the oven) with vanilla ice cream. Would definitely make this again. And get it right too!

D, LY, dad, bro and me were stuffed silly.

The whole circus ended with a massive clean up.
I had to destroy all evidence of culinary activity before mom got home the next day. Tee hee!

Baking is expensive.

2005-08-23T14:48:00.000+08:00

I really need to master the art of making do or improvising with ingredients. I have forgotten how costly baking therapy can be.

Quite often there are special ingredients in some recipes, which are unavailable at normal markets. So I shop at Cold Storage, which caters to the expatriates. As I wrote in my previous post on Ginger Bread & Butter Pudding, the ingredients can be quite a pinch.

Spot has a tip - substitute double cream with normal cream, and ginger marmalade with normal marmalade and crystallised ginger. Now why didn't I think of that!

But with certain things like chocolate, it's quite a tough compromise. Especially when how good a cake tastes correlates with the quality of its ingredients.

For example, the Flourless Chocolate Cake.

The recipe calls for 'high quality dark chocolate with minimum 70% cocoa solids' and unsalted butter.

A supermarket run at Carrefour reveals:
Lindt (the high quality Swiss-made chocolate) is the only brand that carries dark chocolate with 70% cocoa solids. A 100g block sells at RM10.99. The recipe requires 250g, so 3 blocks x RM10.99 = RM33.

A Carrefour brand chocolate with 55% cocoa solids sells at RM8.45 for 400g. Talk about a big price difference for 15% extra in cocoa solids? Wah liao!

Then, the unsalted butter. Only Lurpak, a Danish brand, is available at this market for RM6 a pat (normal salted butter from other brands range between RM3-4). Wow, at this rate, I'd have to limit myself to a baking project twice a month at most or I'd be broke before year end!

Anyway, what the heck.
As long as they make good cake.

And it's easy to make too.
Melt chocolate. Then butter into chocolate. Then sugar with eggs (separated, whites whipped separately). Then mix it all in with the liquer and into the pan. I have no Grand Marnier (as per recipe), so I substitute it with rum, which adds a nice rum-ballish flavour to the cake. It goes into the oven for 40 minutes. Then I frost it with some fudge and dust the edges with icing sugar. Yummy and moist when fresh and warm.

I'd prolly not make this again.
Cos I want to try making my own chocolate volcano.
Yuh-mee!

Comfort pudding.

2005-08-16T12:18:00.000+08:00

When I feel depressed I like surfing for recipes (actually I like looking at the pictures more, heh). And when I'm really feeling shite, baking makes me feel alot better. What they say about baking/cooking being therapeutic is well, very true.

I found a simple gingery bread and butter pudding on a website (almost similiar to the recipe in Nigella Lawson's site). I've always loved the zingy-earthy aroma of ginger and the creaminess of bread and butter pudding. The pudding sounded like a wonderful combination of both. Better yet, it was easy to make.

But gosh, some of the ingredients were so expensive. Like Ginger Marmalade (RM9.90) and Double Cream (RM10.99 for 300ml). I think I'll skip the double cream next time cos the pudding came out a little too rich (not that dessert lovers would complain). The ginger marmalade was really lovely though, with bits of ginger cubes in it.

Here's how it turned out.
I'd make it again. A lighter version perhaps.
And with a pinch of cinnamon and nutmeg.

Volcano chase!

2005-08-08T17:11:00.000+08:00

LY introduced Telawi Street Bistro's (TSB) Volcano to me a few months ago and it rocks.

Soft pudding-like cone-shaped cake on a plate.
Cut through it and hot fudgy chocolate lava spurts out.
Not quite enough to flood the plate, but just enough to soak the cake in rich, warm chocolate sauce.

They serve a scoop of vanilla ice cream and an orange butter cookie swirl with it. The combination of flavours (chocolate-vanilla-orange), textures (creamy-crunchy) and temperatures (hot-cold) in your mouth rate it high on the dessert Richter scale.

The serving is small (at around RM15 a pop) and just nice for one. And you can't help but to wish for more eruptions.

Then D hears there are other places serving Volcano-esque desserts. So we decide to try them all. A volcano chase!

We go to Uncle Chili's, and their volcano is huge.
A big chunk of chocolate cake with fudge lava in the middle, topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce.

The chocolate cake is a little dry, and the volcano must be extinct cos there's hardly any lava. Tastes like cake and ice cream. Nothing special really. And at RM20 a pop, good thing it's enough for two. Or I'd erupt and spew rocks myself.

Next, we go to Mr Ho's Fine Foods at Bangsar Shopping Complex. It's upstairs in the food court (not the shop downstairs) and opens out to an al fresco dining area on a balcony (you can see the city skyline on a good night). Really nice.

But, their volcano looks about as exciting as a cold muffin.

The chocolate is baked in a mini ramekin / souffle dish. And looks alot like an under-cooked souffle. When you prick through the baked bit on top, you get the 'lava' at the bottom. Not much of it too.

If it's any consolation, the chocolate 'lava' tastes really good. Very rich, warm and earthy. It goes well with the scoop of vanilla ice cream (ah, how original) and a sliver or two of strawberry. At RM10 a pop, cannot complain lah.

In short, *drumroll* TSB has the best volcano.

Followed by Mr Ho's.
And as far as Chili's desserts go, stick to the Hi & Mighty Pie. Lots of vanilla ice cream with candy chocolate bits inside, on an Oreo cookie base, drizzled with chocolate and caramel sauce.

Freud would have been a happy man.

2005-05-31T16:01:00.000+08:00

Chocz, KLCC

Plump, luscious, chocolate-coated strawberries the size of plums.

Next to them, chocolate-coated bananas on a stick.
With or without nuts.

If you're a big fan of chocolate, then this place is your utopia.

There's the Nectar, where you melt chunks of chocolate (a few types to choose from) into hot milk over a hot flame, then you slowly drink it.

There's the tchocolat1, which is your classic hot chocolate, available in various flavours.

I choose one called the Aztec, which is dark chocolate with chilli powder. It is spicy, to say the least. The sweet, warm sensation slides down my throat. And keeps me bothered and bewildered for hours.

And there's also the chocolate fondue. A warm pot of gooey chocolate (again, many to choose from), in which you dip cut fruits and marshmallows. Mmmm... I can think of other bits and pieces that would be so lovely with this *grin*.

You can have non-chocolate stuff on the menu as well.
But good grief, why!?

Finding Hor Por.

2005-05-21T16:00:00.000+08:00

HorPor Cuisine, Segambut

It is a really long drive from home.
Driving through the many kampungs (villages) just to get there is quite a headache unless you already live in town (KL, this case).

The folks at HorPor Cuisine claim their food is what the Hakka people would put on their table. So we go to check it out (how tom yam fish made its way into the menu, I don't know).

The Hakka people are migratory tribes of ethnic Han people from central China. Centuries ago, their ancestors migrated late to the southern areas of China, and found that all the best land had been settled long before. The Hakkas were then forced to settle in the sparsely settled hill country. As a result, fresh produce was hard to come by, forcing the Hakkas to heavily utilise dried and preserved ingredients.

I'm half Hakka (mom's Hakka). And we've always enjoyed the typical Hakka dishes like Lui Cha, Sim Pun Chi, Soy Sauce Braised Pork Feet and Pig Trotters in Vinegar.

We order the Lui Cha, though one must acquire the taste for it.
Rice, chopped veges (fresh and preserved), nuts and grains swimming in a green tea broth. Crunchy, tasty and oh-so-wholesome.

My brother cringes at the sight of it, but it's the best Lui Cha I've ever tasted. They use Argentinean Green Tea (though the HorPor folks in China use Chinese Black Tea), anchovies, sesame seeds and groundnuts for that wonderful broth. The crunch comes from the nuts and preserved vegetables. The tofu bits and vegetables add different textures to the bite. Gosh, I could live on this.

We also have the the Sim Pun Chi, cute little starchy yam buttons stir-fried with mushrooms (I love that). The Honey Pork Ribs (yumz). And Chicken in Rice Wine (a tad too sweet).

Overall, good food at reasonable prices. Service is fast and friendly. It's worth the long drive... once in a long while.

Where is it?
Taman Sri Sinar, Jalan 6/38D, Segambut.
Turn left after the school on the main road, find a parking spot somewhere and it's at the older row of shops behind a new building of shops and apartments.

No paltry poultry.

2005-03-02T15:58:00.000+08:00

Saw this in another blog and it blew me away. A deboned turkey stuffed with a deboned duck stuffed with a deboned chicken. Takes a long time to prepare and at least 8 hours to roast. One bird (or birds, rather) is enough to feed a party of 20 or so. Sounds absolutely scary. Looks even scarier. I love it!

Should you be brave enough to attempt this, click here for the recipe. Note: Pictures are not for faint-hearted vegetarians.

Our feathered friends don't tickle your fancy? Check out this Arabian recipe for Stuffed Camel.