week 3 n 4

apam balik
"lok-lok"
taiwanese sausage
Ampang Yong Tau Foo

cookbook wishlist

Morimoto: The New Art of Japanese Cooking
By Masaharu Morimoto

Just bummed into this book online while browsing through my (current) favourite TV channel's website: The Asian Food Channel. And boy.. chef morimoto is a genius. This book is a must have :)

first 2 weeks of KL (food)

Finally, some time to write something about the 'makan' hits that i've been to in my first 2 weeks back home. Here's the top 4 picks, in no particular order:

PURPLE CANE RESTAURANT - This place is ALL about tea, and incorporating elements of tea into their cooking. Very unique taste, and the food here is hardly oily at all, good for health (and weight) conscious people. the best part is, you only pay rm2 for free flow of really good tea. I choose Pu Er tea as the best tea to have, and I think it's also the best chinese tea ever given its unique, earthy flavour.

CHICKEN RICE @ PANDAN INDAH hawker centre (corner shop) - There is a reason why I've been patronising this store for 10 years now: it is PLC, 'Pang, Leng, Ceng' [canto, which means cheap, beautiful(like yummy), and value for money. hmm.. can't really find an accurate translation, gotta check with wai]. All the food in the picture ( normally it comes with roast duck instead of the hainanese boiled chicken, the 'pak kai' [white chicken]. they ran out of duck that day), plus 3 plates of rice and one bowl of soup... costs only RM18, which means RM6 per pax, ie. AUD2. Tell me, where can one find a better deal? and the food has been consistently good, the soup's really nice. Need i say more? come try for yourself. I guarantee you value for money.

HAU KEE SEAFOOD RESTAURANT, Cheras - One of my favourite places to go for good Chinese cuisine, at reasonable prices. Nice place to go with family and friends, and share a few dishes. (To all Canberrans reading this, the place is definitely 10x better than Happy's). Hau Kee's signature dish: Crab cooked in milk and butter sauce. It's just so yummilicious! They serve it with some sweet bread for you to eat it with the sauce, but i prefer eating plain rice with that sauce; accentuates the flavours in the sauce better since plain rice has a more neutral taste allowing the real stars of the night to shine.

IMBI MARKET, Off Jalan Imbi(next to Pasarakyat) - Originally the market grounds was in Jalan Imbi itself, but now it's relocated to new ground, slightly off Jalan Imbi, but still within walking distance from landmarks such as Berjaya Times Square. The 'food area' of the market boasts many local favourites such as chee cheong fun, wanton mee, porridge with pork intestines(yummy! very popular), popiah, and of course the drinks stall which also sells, in my opinion, the best kaya toast in town (See inset). Be sure to turn up early if you intend to eat here as some of the stalls might just think they had a good run on sales and decide to close early.

More updates on my local picks next time!

donut wars

Even if you're not Bart Simpsons, I think you should give a serious thought about doughnuts. there's the classic donut without any topping, jam donuts (there's one very popular in Victoria Market, Melbourne), any shape any flavour. it is normally a sweet piece of dough or batter that is deep-fried - there's even mini-machines that does the frying for you (all you need to do is mix the batter.. ANU Campus Bakery does this..shhh)

ANYWAY, the purpose of this post really is to introduce to you TWO alternatives to Krispy Kreme, which i strongly believe is OVERRATED. People go nuts about krispy kreme, but i think there's really nothing special about it.. just sugar glaze over doughnut made using some premix..possibly the same ones you can get off supermarket shelves.

Since my arrival back in Malaysia, the makansutra heaven, I found that there is a this new donut and coffee joint called J.Co. I actually bummed into one of its two(?) stores in KL while walking around the newly opened Pavillion in Jalan Bukit Bintang ( the mall sits on the former site of the then Bukit Bintang Girls' School, more affectionately known as BBGS). anyway, being the foodie that I am, the first place that I went to in the mall is none other than the floor where all the food is located. They've made it into a really really nice foodcourt, with cheap and expensive restaurants, local and foreign fare all situated next to each other. Surprisingly there are a lot of bakeries there (Tunku Mahathir's bakery is in Pavillion too). It was while touring this really nice food 'centre' that I saw this particular shop with so many people queueing up for the food. In fact, it was actually the ONLY shop there that attracted such a large concentration of people in one place. SO, my curious stomach led me to this 'magnificent' donut parlour - J.Co.

I waited 30 minutes just to get my dozen donuts, of which i requested for a piece from each flavour. I got one of everything available that day but I think there's still a few flavours missing. I saw how them donuts are made while I was patiently waiting in the queue, and honestly, I don't think there is really anything special to it. I feel that a lot of customers are driven by the hype and craze of a potentially new trend-setter, or they are just naturally attracted to them due to a sweet tooth. Seriously, after trying the donuts myself, i feel that all those different flavours are just different mixtures of sugar icing - nothing so special that is worth 30 minutes of my time queueing up. *majorly disappointed* The only ones that caught my attention was the almond one(top row, 2nd from right, donut picture), the cheese flavoured one (top row, 1st from left) and the tiramisu, (bottom row, 2nd from right; sadly it turned out to be way below expectations.) The doughnut base ain't anything fantastic either, tastes just like the standard donut pre-mix.

Now, moving on to Dunkin' Donuts. Tried it a few days after having those donuts from J.Co, and the verdict is pretty obvious. Dunkin's still the best in my opinion. They now serve these 'whirl' (i think i got the name right) donuts which uses a different batter , and the extra 'twisting' means larger surface area and more crispy skin. it is a bit dry i think,not worth paying the extra bucks for it.



HOWEVER, you really have to try dunkin donut's choc based donuts.. such as coconut and butternut flavour ( the top-right and top-centre ones respectively). THEY ARE THE BEST. the jam-filled donuts sold here are nice too, but i was buying an offer package which allowed me to choose only 3 normal donuts and 3 of those whirls. ( the 3rd donut, bottom right, is a cinnamon flavoured one. also another bomb...just about the right amount of cinnamon). The donuts have just about the right texture, and the flavours are generally great ( i normally avoid flavours that have weird toppings on it, they're ok but not fantastic). Dunkin donuts also sells mini jam-filled donuts which make a fantastic snack anytime of the day.

I guess the winner here is pretty obvious. Say NO to krispy kreme and J.Co. seriously, even the donuts at my workplace (ANU campus bakery) taste better. and cheaper too. choose less sugar, more flavour.

Dare to be Different

Remember this photo from when this blog was started? (cf. A day at Suiss)



I gave it the title "Dare to be Different", because that was really what caught my attention when I took the photo. the croissants had just been taken out of the oven, smelling nice, looking good!

Now, those croissants has just won me the GRAND PRIZE for the recent Bruce Hall Photography competition!

Double Chocolate Fingers with Irish Cream

this recipe was created for a post-exam, rest 'n' relax dinner at unilodge with friends. it's an idea that sparked off from edmond's desire to use his bailey's (irish cream liqueur) for dessert and my suggestion of making tiramisu. we used 2 types of chocolate( actually, we used 3 different blocks of choc)..hence the name double chocolate.

this is really one of the easiest recipes to try, so have fun!

ingredients:
sponge fingers
dark chocolate ( i used lindt 70% and some other hunter valley brand.)
chocolate with nuts ( i used cadbury choc..i think the flavour was nutbreak)
irish cream (baileys)

1. melt the dark chocolate in a bain marie. then coat one side of the sponge fingers and leave it till chocolate hardens
2. soak the sponge fingers in irish cream ( the hardened chocolate layer helps retain the shape of the sponge fingers after soaking in all the irish cream). how long to soak and how much irish cream depends on your preference, but i'd not add too much till i becomes "overkill".
3. finally, melt the other chocolate with nuts and coat the other side of the sponge fingers. leave to dry and it's ready to eat!

tip: if the sponge biscuit/fingers are too huge, or if you need to serve a lot of guests, i suggest breaking them into halves.

a chef's mentality

they say "journeys end when lovers meet". i say journeys begin when flavours meet!

i love cooking, and even more so, baking. there's just so much excitement and curiosity involved - right from the start when you decide on what you are going to cook, till the end when you ask others if your if your food taste good. well, the first person anyone should ask regarding their food, really, should be themselves.

and sometimes i wonder why i will choose to be the cook instead of being the waiter ( not that i wait on the food to arrive, but to serve others their meal - the front of house). of course, i would love to do both, so that i can get first-hand response of how the food went. to serve my friends from start to end. nonetheless, if i had to choose, i'd choose the former. i think it's just that bit of me that's willing to give my best even if it means to be in the background. why one would one do that? what if another person did nothing and claims all credit? while it will sadden me deeply if that person is my friend, i feel that i derive more joy in knowing that i am able to make someone's day better, to put a smile on their faces.

i'm happy when i know that you are happy.

that's how my heart works i guess. even if it means that i have to go through stress or hardship, or a really bad day, i'd still press on and maybe pretend so that others don't have to worry. perhaps cooking is like a way to escape from it all, like keeping my troubles within the kitchen doors, and only serving the best at the dining table. the realm of food and flavours, i believe, is largely results-driven. more often than not, you will not know the true process involved in cooking up a storm; you will more likely only have to decide if you truly had a satisfying meal. what a chef serves is like his signature, it's near impossible to copy 100% from another chef. if you're observant, you'll pick out the minute details that's been carefully added to make a meal great - the true gastronomical experience!

get involved in the process, and you'll love the flavours even more.

"although it's possible to love eating without being able to cook, i don't believe you can ever really cook unless you love eating." - Nigella Lawson, taken from her book 'How to Eat: The Principles of Good Food'

cooking with chocolate and coffee

thanks eli, huda, phoebe, sengbeng, net, adrian, ailin n felix for the wonderful 21st birthday present. there were a lot of requests in it but still, i really appreciated it.

melaka bandaraya bersejarah

-The Historical City of Malacca, Malaysia

Eu Gene: Ok.. that's the Kota A Famosa in front of you and the St.Paul's church up the hill
Me: Ahh, I see. Let's go somewhere else...

... for more food, obviously.

3 days of *makan marathon. And I must agree with my host that 3 days is just too little to savour all that melaka has to offer. 3 cheers to eugene for making my 3 days stay there an unforgettable one.

Day 1: chicken rice balls. Pool. Satay. DoTA/CS. ikan bakar with sambal. DoTA/CS. roti john. SLeep
Day 2: "kon low" wantan mee with chilli oil. Mahkota Parade. Bee Bee's pineapple tarts. Daph's home. Sushi King. DoTA/CS. Satay Celup. Rest&Relax. Sotong&kangkung + cockles with "special sauce". DoTA
Day 3: Duck noodles ( not roast duck, but braised). "Pong piah" (pastry with sweet filling). Chai kueh. Rest,Relax,DoTA. Chendol. Eugene's fav Popiah. Assortment of malay kuih. Chinese dinner

There's so much flavour involved in the last 3 days that i think i will not be able to do justice to all of them by describing them here. You HAVE to go try them yourself! For myself, everyday was more of a matter of waiting for the next meal, thus explaining why there were so many DoTA sessions.

among those that are worthy of mention is, of course, satay celup. we(me, sengbeng, daphne & eugene) went to the BEST satay celup in melaka( capitol satay celup, can't remember where it is, i got chaffeured around town during my stay there..hehe). the concept is similar to "lok lok" in KL, where you cook food skewered on a wooden stick in a pot of hot clear broth. for satay celup, replace that broth with satay sauce - tastes soooo good! there's also a small serving of bread for you to soak it with the sauce and eat it. at the place where we ate, after you've eaten about 20+ sticks, then they will give you selected VIP items, usually the more exotic seafood.

The most memorable experience of all -Sotong&kangkung + cockles with "special sauce". it was supper time on thursday and eugene and i was really happy when he took me walking down this dark alley in between the antique buildings in the city - only to discover the sights and sounds of patrons happily opening the shells of cockles (boiled...but i think it's more like just blanched), then removing the flesh and dipping it in the SPECIAL SAUCE that tasted nothing but heavenly. it's a mix of prawn paste, sweet sauce(those you get when you eat yong tau foo), lime juice, chilli sauce, and peanuts. i personally do not fancy eating just cockles...but with that sauce, it's a really addictive delicacy. the excitement does not stop there - there's also this sotong & kangkung dish that eugene ordered for me. only one word to describe it - orgasmic. it's so so good! that's the single dish that i really really dig into. there's such a dish in kl too supposedly, but the one in melaka was done to perfection. and apart from the heavenly-tasting food, i really love the ambience and atmosphere at that place - a dark street with people eating off a really low table with waste containers in front for you to dispose the shells, the boss preparing the food in front of you, and there's a framed newspaper review of the stall hanging by the wall... the limited number of people there adds to the exclusivity of the stall - you either know the place or you don't.

Of course, there's also the satay i had during my first day in melaka. the sauce is sweeter than the normal peanut sauce you get when you eat satay kajang-style, as there's some fruit used to cook the sauce. there's also a pig's small intestines satay ( on top of the usual chicken, beef and pork satay). the combination of that satay, which tastes slightly salty-ish, with the sweet sauce - perfecto.

the best part of this trip is... i took ZERO photos! which meant that the food is just too good to resist. allow me to be selfish now, but isn't more exciting to see and taste it for yourself especially if it's for the first time?

i'm booked for my trip down to melaka again in a year's time. Definitely. Thanks eugene for being such a wonderful host!