Food Safari ~ It's MAKAN time!

They Draw and Cook

2011-03-06T03:11:00.000+08:00

I came across this website and I think it's the most AMAZING website ever!!!! It's called They Draw and Cook and what it is is the most beautifully illustrated recipes. It makes you want to just get out there and cook. I now want a blank wall in my kitchen only so that I can hang all these up.

Making Stock / Soup Bases

2011-02-14T12:13:00.001+08:00

On cool days, I like drinking soup. However, making good soup, from scratch, does take quite a while as you need a good base of bones, vegetables, etc. Over Chinese New Year, we had "Kiam Chye Boi' which is a soup dish that should contain bones of roasted meats and salted vegetables (and lots of other ingredients!). The idea is to boil a huge portion and then re-heating and having it over a few days, only because the flavour intensifies the longer you keep it.

The secret, to me, is probably the bones of roasted meats. This is the reason why people tend to 'doggy-bag' the bones of roast pigs from restaurants, etc.

When you're cooking for one, or two, it doens't make sense to spend so much time labouring over cooking soup. Taking a page out of the 'bones of roasted meats', I do keep bones of the roasts I cook. Normally it's chicken or turkey. The other day I bought a whole chicken from the market and they also give you the feet and neck so thsoe have been 'saved' as well.

With the bones, I normally apportion them into one serving size. E.g 2 chicken legs / 1/2 a roast chicken carcass, etc - and I palce them in bags and freeze them.

The other main ingredient for a good soup is also vegetables. Carrots, celery, onions, etc - all these help built the flavour of soup. I was watching a Jamie Oliver show and he suggested that from your daily cooking, the parts of carrots, celery, onions, etc that we won't eat i.e. the top and bottom part of the carrot, that it gets saved for making stock. Afterall, you throw these bits out at the end anyway. So that's what I do, everyday when I'm cooking any hard veges that could add flavour to my soup base, I'll toss it in a bag in the freezer.

With 'bones' and 'veges' on hand at all times in the freezer, making stock/soup is a breeze. Just dump the bones and veges in a pot of boiling water, boil for about 30 minutes and you'll have very good tasting soup base. For me, doing it this way also saves freezer space from what I used to do which is making soup stock and then freezing the liquid.

This is also much healthier than using commercially-prepared soup cubes or granules as it's more natural.

So, what's your next stock going to be?

Jon Gabriel Method and me

2009-11-07T11:27:00.005+08:00

I've had a few readers asking about the Jon Gabriel Method and I thought I'd share my experiences in a post.

I liked the book very much, and it's not about a strict diet that wouldn't fit into a regular lifestyle. To a large extent it is not just the food but also about emotions and how they do play out physically (as a 'spare tyre' for example).

How I've incorporated Jon Gabriel's teachings into my life

- I have my probiotics first thing when I wake up in the morning. If you're in Malaysia, I recommend getting the Bio-Life brand one (the one which they keep in the fridge). This is with a huge glass of water (at least 500 ml). This tends to help me also 'go' almost immediately. Even without the probiotics, I aim for the water first thing when I wake up and this really gets the system 'moving'.

- For bread, I only eat sprouted grain bread which is difficult to find but I have managed to the get the Adventist Bakery ones at places like Cold Storage. The bread keeps for abour 3 months if you freeze it so I normally get a couple of loafs and freeze it.

- I'm aiming for a mainly vegetable diet and as much as possible, raw. The idea is to get as much vegetables into your diet as possible. This is not as difficult to achieve as it sounds.

At home, it's easy, I prepare salads; as colorful as possible. I'm not a huge fan of the leafy veges like lettuce, cabbage so I use a lot of cucumber (the japanese ones), peppers (I love the yellow and orange ones), tomatoes (normally baby tomatoes), carrot (which I normally grate), celery (cut into fine pieces), and if I can get them, baby spinach, corn, etc.

As for dressing, now this can be a mine trap if you love dressings like 1000 island, and all those fat-laden ones. I normally get the Japanese dressings. They're much lighter, especially the ones from soya, it's very liquidy and will flavour your whole salad with just very little.

Of course, I'm Malaysian, so we can't live with salad all the time and I also don't want my mind to think I'm trying to starve it and so that it goes into starvation mode. One of the main 'tricks' I use is to purchase my favourite curries, normally the ones which are drier like rendang. Chicken rendang, mutton curry (from the indian shop), beef rendang, etc. I buy one serving, normally about 4 -5 pieces of meat. I use about 2 chunks per meal and what I do with this is cut up the meat (using a scissors) into small chunks and then mix it into my salads. It gives a nice local flavour; my taste buds are appeased and the flavour of the meat and sauce acts like my salad dressing!

Other times, what I do add to my salads are tuna (in spring water), salmon and bacon. It all gives flavour. You can also add half boiled eggs to a salad and the runny texture acts as a dressing too.

- Flaxseed. Jon Gabriel talks about getting flaxseed into the diet as it contains a high level of omega-3s and also protein and fibre. I get the organic ones from the supermarket and grind them up every week or so and in most of my meals (at home), I add about a tablespoon. There's no strong flavour but it gives a nice nutty crunch.

- Sugar. Of course, the idea is to minimise your intake of sugar, especially the refine kind. Jon is OK with Xylitol, which is a sugar substitute. Personally I don't like sugar substitutes so I'd rather cut down on the sugar intake. This means the teh tarik kurang manis (less sugar) or NOT ordering the teh tarik but going for something like fruit juice with no sugar. The best alternative I've found, especially at the mamak is ordering fresh coconut which is as natural as you can get.

- Visualisation. I listen to Jon's CD almost every night before going to bed. I also celebrate all the nice parts of my body, instead of focusing on all the not so nice parts. You can also use teachings from the Law of Attraction to help with achieving "My Ideal Body". Visit http://www.lawofattractionbook.com/ for more information.

I have also incorporated other learnings into my lifestyle i.e. food combining. Basically, the rules are:
Vegetables + Meat only
Vegetables + Rice, noodles or carbos only
Don't mix meat and carbo.

Yes, difficult as it sounds, I mean nasi lemak ayam is about rice and chicken, but I cut down the portion of rice and increase the portion of cucumbers. This is the reason why when I eat out, it's normally rice and veges only.

When I make lasagna, there's only 1 layer of meat and the rest are vegetables. Or I've sometimes substituted the meat for mushroom.

Eating Out and the Jon Gabriel Method
At the Indian shop, I go for the capati or thosai, no more roti canai as much as possible. I would eat this with the chutney and curries but as much as possible, no meat. Tandoori and naan are out of the equation now as it's the worst possible combination for me. I also try to avoid the fried stuff as much as posssible. Fried food is never good as we don't know what oils they use.

At the Chinese hawker, I either go for the rice or porridge and you can choose all the various vegetable dishes to go with it or noodles, eliminating the meat. No more fried kueh teow, etc.

At the Malay shops, it's much easier. There's normally ulam (malay salad) somewhere and that becomes my best friend. It's either ulam and rice or ulam and meat, normally I opt for ulam and rice and other vegetables / tofu dishes.

Other shops:

Last night I ate at a steamboat restaurant where you can order your own individual portions. I opted for the vegetarian meal which had loads of mushrooms and veges and ordered another portion of vegetables.

At places like TGIF or Chilli's, I opt for the salads with the dressing on the side. This can be with or without meat. If choosing a meat, opt for the ones which are grilled vs the fried.

For me, the aim is to eat as much vegetables as possible so think like a vegetarian but you can add some meat here and there.

I've minimised my consumption of rice, noodles, pasta, etc. If I eat rice at home, I have the multigrain or brown rice, no more white rice.

Eating Times
Get as much heavy eating as possible done during the early part of the day. A heavy supper is evil. Years ago, I used to eat supper almost every night; the mee mamak washed down with teh tarik (not 1 but a couple), sharing satay or a roti tissue as well .. it's no wonder that in that one year I put on about 10kg!

Now my 'supper' is limited to a drink with friends, normally a lime juice or coconut. I do get a craving for teh tarik which I don't stop myself from having but not every time.

The idea is not to 'starve' your body and block the cravings, just find creative ways to give in to your cravings. But, you will find that the more veges you consume, eventually, you won't crave meat so much or other sweet stuff.

Exercise
I'll be the first to admit I'm not a huge exercise person. So I'm 'cheating' and going to sit at the FIR sauna every 2 days. If you want to know more about the sauna, go to http://www.zazenhealthsolutions.com/ They have about 30 branches around Malaysia and each sitting is about RM12-15. Might sound costly but since I've minimised the Starbuck's coffee, that's where the 'coffee money' is going to! In half hour, I'm sweating bucketloads, burning 900 calories, get my Vitamin D from the Far Infra and also some time to myself. There's a CD in the cabin, which I use to play visualisation or meditation CDs.

Since embarking on this new lifestyle (about 3 months ago), I haven't really lost weight, only about 1.5kg but I can feel my body being stronger and all my clothes are getting looser, which is the most important part. Friends have commented that I've lost weight (which I haven't really but I guess the fat is either turning into muscle or being re-allocated around my body).

I recommend reading the book if you haven't already. I can't find it in Malaysia so I got a friend to get it from Australia. Or you can buy it at Amazon. Click on this link for the book.

The Gabriel Method: The Revolutionary DIET-FREE Way to Totally Transform Your Body

Hope this helps. Do drop me a note if you want to know more. And do share with other readers if you are also practicing this method.

What to do with vegetables

2009-04-21T16:41:00.002+08:00

As i'm going to be away next week, I had to finish up all the perishables in the kitchen.
What I had ..
- garlic
- onions
- pumpkin
- potatoes
- tomatoes
- carrots
- purple cabbage
- parsley

OK, so a salad was out of the question; can't eat raw pumpkin ...
Was thinking of roasting all the veges - but can't really roast cabbage ...
So I decided on a quick vegetable curry stew

It's simple
chop up all the veges
Oil into the pot, adding garlic and onions and fry till fragrant
Add chopped tomatoes
Add 1 tablespoon of curry powder and some water
Add carrots, then pumpkins and potatoes - boil

Later, what I did was put the chopped raw cabbage and parsley on top of the rice and then pour the hot curry/stew on top. Yummy and pretty healthy too!

The Gabriel Method and sprouted grain bread

2009-04-16T14:24:00.004+08:00

One of the foods that Jon Gabriel talks about in his book The Gabriel Method: The Revolutionary DIET-FREE Way to Totally Transform Your Body , is breads (p89). That we should be eating, as much as possible, sprouted grain breads.

So I decided to check out if I could find sprouted grain bread in Kuala Lumpur.

Just my luck, a few days after reading the book, when I walked into the Jusco / MaxValue near my place, I spotted Anzen Sprouted Organic Grains bread with 18 organic grains. It's RM4.50 for a loaf of 360g.

Ingredients: Hulled Millet, black bean, mung bean, yellow and black soya bean, adzuki bean, brown flax see, golden flax seed, black sesame, sunflower seed, pumpkin seed, barley, buckwheat, oats groats, oat bran, regular rolled oats, instant rolled oats and wheat bran! Phew what a long exhausting list. It does use white flour in it too.

I found the bread texture somewhat like wholemeal bread with quite a fine texture. Perhaps it's because of the white flour. And it's also cut very thinly, which I'm not too crazy about. But it keeps well in the freezer and toasts well after. More info at http://www.dcorganic.com/

A few weeks later, I was at Cold Storage at The Curve and found the Adventist Bakery Sprouted Life Grain Bread with 7 grains. It's RM6.60 for a 450g loaf. When I was younger, we used to buy bread directly from the Adventist Hospital Bakery and it was so yummy. I'm glad that they've decided to also 'export' it out for Penang.

Now this one, I like. Texture wise, there's a nice bite to it and I can feel the whole grains and fibre. It's also sliced not so thin and tastes really nice toasted.

Ingredients: Millet, wheat, corn, oats, rye, soya and lentils. There's no flour in their recipe but they have honey, molasses, corn oil and yeast. The fact that there's no flour is a plus point and probably accounts for the nice 'rough' texture.

So, my recommendation is the Adventist Bakery Sprouted Life Grain bread.

Ribs@Oasis - Bandar Utama

2009-04-11T15:43:00.004+08:00

Received this in the mail today ...anyone been there???

Greetings from Ribs@Oasis. We are a small non-halal western restaurant
located in the friendly neighborhood of Bandar Utama, Petaling Jaya.
Nested between the famous 1 Utama shopping complex and the community
shopping centre of Centre Point, the restaurant is housed within the BU4
Oasis complex situated next to the BU4 residential entrance. In spite of
the prime location, parking is a breeze as there are abundant parking
spaces in and around the complex.

On the food we serve…For the starters, we have the Classic Ceasar Salad
where crispy romaine are tossed with anchovy dressing and topped with pork
bacon, croutons & grated parmesan. For the soup lovers, we have the Wild
Mushroom Soup where they are made from fresh mushroom and herbs blended
and concocted to perfection. In addition, we do offer a spread of
appetizers and side orders range from the mushroom lover’s – Sautéed
Mushroom, Garlic Bread and many more.

Ribs@Oasis as the name implies, serves juicy western style baby back pork
ribs and Belly Pork Ribs on a bed of roasted or mesh potatoes. Of late our
juicy Pork Burgers and the Pork Loin has also move up the ranks and have
become our best sellers. In addition to the pork dishes, we also serve a
variety of Pasta including Carbonara, Olio, white wine Vongole, Pomodoro,
Leeks and Shrimps and the all time favorite Bolognaise. For the seafood
lovers, we have the traditional English style Fish & Chips (butter fish),
Pan Fried Butter Fish and Seafood Platter which consists of a selection of
fresh seafood…prawns, lobster slippers, scallop fish fillers and squids
drizzled with lemon garlic butter sauce.

No meal is complete without a taste of our dessert. For the chocolate
lovers, we have the best Chocolate Molten Cake and our Apple and banana
Crumble which comes with a serving of Haagan Dazs ice cream.

As for drinks, we have a few in-house concoctions to quench your
thirst..Coke infused with passion fruit extract – Riblicious, blend of
Mango and Blood Orange with Sprite – Ribstropic, Blue Curacao, lime juice
with soda – Ribsdelight. In addition, we also serve a range of Lipton teas
and Nespresso coffees.

Visit us for a memorable tantalizing taste of western pork cuisine …you
have tasted the rest, now taste the BEST!

Ribs@OasisAddress: Lot 1-1, BU4 Oasis, 2 Changkat Bandar Utama
47800 Petaling Jaya, Selangor
Phone Number: 03 77298921
E-mail : Ribs.oasis@gmail.com
URL http://ribs-oasis.webs.com

Mutton Curry Salad

2009-03-20T20:17:00.003+08:00

So, LN managed to get a copy of the The The Gabriel Method: The Revolutionary DIET-FREE Way to Totally Transform Your Body for me while she was in Sydney. The author, Jon Gabriel, was supposed to have come to Malaysia a few months ago but didn't quite make it. I was curious about his book, but couldn't find it in Malaysian bookstores.

Anyway, got the book and found it a very interesting read. There's no mention of a diet anywhere! He talks about eating healthy; making your body crave healthy food instead of junk food, about eating food with 'life' in it i.e. raw/lightly cooked to retain nutrients, etc.

I found this very close to my beliefs about food (after having gone for the 10 day Fasting Program at Spa Samui and all) so after weeks of boiling everything into a soup (so I was craving soup!) I decided to go SALADS!

One of the things he said was that not everyone likes salad but in order to get more veges into your body, try turning everything into a salad. I decided to take on the challenge!

My staples for salad:
- Purple cabbage
- Carrots
- Yellow Peppers
- Cherry Tomatoes
- Japanese cucumbers

The above veges make for a lovely salad which has beautiful colours and I read somewhere that it's good to have many different colors in you food.

Occasionally I'll add some boiled eggs, potatoes. If i feel like some meat, depending on what I have at home, I may add bit of sausage or pepperoni, etc.

The other day, I added some chicken - marinated with whole grain mustard and grilled, before cutting in to smaller bit sizes and mixed in the salad.

Today, I decided to clear out my freezer because my fridge is playing up a little. Found a packet of dry mutton curry. At the same time, I was trying to finish up the salad ingredients. Then I thought to myself, why not have a mutton curry salad?

The results were yummy!! As it's a dry mutton curry, I heated it up, cut into smaller pieces and just mixed it through the salad and the little bit of gravy made of a nice salad dressing so I didn't have to add any other salad dressing to it anymore! Perhaps not the healthiest, but hey .. better than having mutton curry with banana leaf rice and everything else :)

In the The Gabriel Method, Jon also mentioned lasagna salad .. that, I've gotta try~~!

The boook is highly recommended, and it comes with a Visualization CD to listen to every night ...

For more information on Jon, go to http://www.jongabriel.com.au/
To order the book, you can buy through Amazon

[Article] Pig's feet: the new superfood

2009-03-17T20:43:00.003+08:00

*Pigs' feet: the new superfood*
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/3353631/Pigs-feet-the-new-superfood.html

As Britain 's spending on cosmetic surgery soars, Fiona MacDonald Smith suggests it's time that we chopped and changed our diet instead .

The latest anti-ageing food? Pigs' trotters. That's right, you heard it here first.
In New York , the most talked-about new opening of the past couple of months has been a Japanese restaurant called Hakata Tonton, where 33 out of the 39 dishes contain pigs' feet.

The reason for this, according to its owner, Himi Okajima, is that they are rich in collagen, the protein responsible for skin and muscle tone, more recognizable to beauty addicts in the form of face creams and fillers.

"Collagen helps your body retain moisture," says Okajima, who has introduced a chain of restaurants specializing in collagen cuisine in Japan . "Your hair and skin will look better, but it's not just for looking beautiful now. If you begin eating collagen in your thirties, you will look younger in your forties."

Maybe this sounds a little improbable ( "It's news to me," sniffs Lisa Miles of the British Nutrition Foundation. "I've certainly never heard of eating collagen." ) but Okajima believes he is on to something. Figures published last month show that British spending on cosmetic surgery is the highest in Europe , hitting nearly £500 million in 2006, four times more than in 2001.

Isn't there a cheaper solution? Couldn't eating the right foods, in the right way, be a simpler, and ultimately more long-term way to stay looking and feeling younger? "You are what you eat," says nutritional therapist Ian Marber, aka The Food Doctor.

"You can't turn the clock back but you can slow things down. Every cell replicates from RNA and DNA. In order to keep the DNA in good condition, you want to protect cells from harmful free radicals. And for this you need to eat fruit and vegetables, which contain vital anti-oxidants like vitamins A, C, E and zinc.

"It doesn't have to be expensive," he adds. "I know people go on about so-called 'superfoods' which have a greater concentration of anti-oxidants, but two apples a day will give you plenty of vitamins and fibre. You just need to ensure a varied diet."

"The key is to remember we're omnivorous," agrees nutritionist Christian Lee, who is the national trainer for the Dr Nicholas Perricone cosmetics and nutrition empire. "Have you ever noticed how women age more rapidly than men?

That's because they don't eat enough protein. The days you don't eat protein are the days you age. The body can't store protein, but it needs it for cellular production and function. "

At each meal you should be able to hold up three fingers and say 'I've got a good source of protein (lean fish or poultry, nuts, seeds or tofu); an essential fatty acid ( Omega 3 or 6, so that's coldwater oily fish, flaxseeds, linseeds ) and a low glycaemic carbohydrate ( fruit, vegetables, and whole grains like quinoa, buckwheat and oatmeal )'. If you can say that, you're on the right road."

Perricone, a dermatologist, became America's most famous anti-ageing specialist with his "Three-Day Nutritional Face Lift", which extolled the virtues of eating wild Alaskan salmon twice a day, claiming its essential fatty acids would banish puffiness and tighten the skin. Uma Thurman, Heidi Klum and J-Lo are all fans.

In his new book Ageless Face, Ageless Mind, which has yet to reach the UK, Dr Perricone's team assert that up to 40 per cent of wrinkles are caused by dietary sugar. "When you eat high glycaemic carbohydrates like bread, cakes and pasta, they turn into sugar in the blood so fast that the pancreas can't respond with enough insulin and the blood becomes saturated with sugar," argues Christian Lee. "The sugar needs to go somewhere so it attaches itself to the cell membranes.

When it does this to collagen molecules in the skin, it causes the collagen to become stiff and immobile and that's the birth of the wrinkle. The bad news is that it doesn't end there - the sugar then pumps out free radicals, causing a double whammy of damage. The good news is you can prevent it - either by cutting out sugar or by taking a supplement of alpha lipoid acid, which is 400 times stronger than vitamin C and E combined."

So ditch the sugar, but don't forget the pigs' trotters.

FOODSTUFFS THAT KEEP YOU YOUNG
*Spinach* contains the pigment lutein, present in the retina, which helps maintain the health of the eye.

*Tomatoes* contain the anti-oxidant lycopene, which can protect the skin from UV damage from the sun.

*Purple or red berries* - such as blueberries, raspberries and strawberries - are full of anthocyanins which can help protect against diabetes, heart disease and cancer, and help maintain strong arteries.

*Oily fish*, such as fresh water salmon, herring, mackerel and sardines, and also flax seeds and linseeds, are the main source of omega-3 fatty acids, which can delay the ageing process of the skin.

*Water*: drinking more aids digestion and elimination; drinking too little can harm the complexion.

....AND SOME THAT AGE YOU
*Carbonated drinks* - along with tea, coffee, sugar, red meat and alcohol - can push the body's balance towards the acidic, meaning that alkaline minerals (such as calcium) are removed from bone stores to balance it, weakening the bones. Restricting them may help you keep stronger bones.

*Nightshade vegetables* - potatoes, tomatoes, chillies, aubergine and peppers - while often healthy in other respects, contain a chemical that studies suggest can activate pain and inflammation associated with arthritis. Avoiding these foods may help reduce it.

*Refined carbohydrates* - such as white bread, white rice, sugary cereals, pasta and noodles - contribute to the development of type II diabetes, which accelerates the ageing process and, if not controlled, can lead to a wide range of other health problems.

The Everlasting Tupperware

2009-03-05T00:21:00.003+08:00

So, when my aunt moved out of her home of like 30 years into a small apartment, there was lots of stuff to clear. As I was moving to my new place, her Tupperware collection inadvertently found it's way to my place.

Amazingly, most of the tupperwares were brand new and even though they were probably from like about 20 years ago, it still looked good and relevant in my new kitchen. I've been using most of the tupperware to store all kinds of condiments. Also found the ice lolly moulds which I will try out one of these days.

Anyway, I was looking to get some more tupperware containers and then I realised, I don't know any tupperware salespeople. So, I turned to Google and found that you can now buy Tupperware over the net from this site Tupperware2u. What great idea! I could order and pay without leaving my home and they delivered it to my home.

From time to time, there's a promotion on and apart from Tupperware, you can also get the Beauticontrol stuff. They are also promoting other non-Tupperware products on it too.

Haagen Daaz 'Five' - Simplicity in ice cream

2009-02-26T13:55:00.003+08:00

Unfortunately, only available in the USA currently. Wonder if we Malaysians will ever see it here? Or perhaps I could take the 5 ingredients and try it out in my ice cream machin ... hmmm...that's an idea :)
Haagen-Dazs 'Five' - just 5 ingredients
Source: Springwise
As a delicacy with relative affordability and universal appeal, ice cream is one of those products that serves as a barometer of the times. We've covered ice cream innovations at the high end—such as the Van Leeuwen Artisan Ice Cream Company and its locally sourced, hormone-free ice creams in flavours like ginger, giandujia and red currant—as well as convenience-focused novelties like the MooBella vending machine. Next up? Simplicity, if the Häagen-Dazs Five line is any indication.

Häagen-Dazs Five is a new, all-natural ice cream crafted with only five ingredients: skim milk, cream, sugar, egg yolks and natural flavouring. Available in mint, ginger, coffee, vanilla bean, passion fruit, brown sugar and milk chocolate, the Five line also includes less fat than Häagen-Dazs's other ice creams, the company says. It's now available in stores, and an online flavour finder helps identify availability by ZIP code. Pricing is roughly USD 7 per pint.

Pure, natural, simple—in today's ailing economic climate, such adjectives hold a nostalgic appeal. Everyday consumers may not be able to afford the big luxuries, but at least there's still good, old-fashioned ice cream! ;-)

Website: www.haagendazs.com/products/five.aspx
Contact: www.haagendazs.com/company/contact_form.aspx

[Idea] Restaurants can sms guest who are waiting

2009-02-26T13:43:00.003+08:00

What a great idea! In Malaysia, I had a similar experience with the Westin Kuala Lumpur. When I called to make reservations; immediately after putting the phone down, I received an SMS confirming my reservation. A day before the booking, received another SMS reminder/confirmation. AFTER having my meal there, received a thank you SMS within the hour!

Restaurants page waiting guests on their cellphones
Source: Springwise

Providing a new solution to an old problem, ReadyPing lets restaurants notify guests by text message when their table is ready. The system aims to improve on restaurant pagers, which require a substantial upfront investment plus maintenance costs, and have a limited range. Restaurants don't need to purchase new hardware to use ReadyPing; all that's required is an internet connection and a computer. ReadyPing charges a flat monthly fee of USD 35, which includes sending an unlimited number of 'pings'.

To use the system, hosts enter a party's name, number of guests, and their mobile number. When their table is available, the host clicks a button to send a customizable text message.

Launched in January 2009, ReadyPing is currently only available in the United States, but it definitely has potential in other time-strapped parts of the world. Of course, there's no reason why similar systems couldn't be used by other types of businesses. One to brainstorm on?

Website: www.readyping.com
Contact: www.readyping.com/about/contact-us
Spotted by: Judy McRae

Chocolates and Valentine's Day

2009-02-13T17:05:00.004+08:00

I almost forgot that it's Valentine's Day this Saturday! I mean, we're still recovering from Chinese New Year!

Anyway, as I walked pass the Godiva shop at KLCC earlier, I couldn't help but fall in love with the scrumptious chocolates they had on sale. It's gorgeous!

Someone asked me why Godiva chocolates are so expensive. Well, to me its all the high quality ingredients they put into it and of course, the packaging, etc that makes an already great piece of chocolate that more special.

For Valentine's Day, they've outdone themselves - precious little morsels of chocolate wrapped prettily in beautiful heart boxes and don't forget the really really cute teddy bear too!

Actually, if my love presented himself with a box of Godiva chocolate tied around his neck, that would make a pretty good present too ... hmm..something to think about? :)

Learn more about Godiva chocolate at http://www.godivamalaysia.com/

Godiva has 2 locations in Kuala Lumpur:

1) Level 1, Suria KLCC (just at the top of the middle escalators) Tel 03 2166 5252

2) Level 2, Pavillion, Kuala Lumpur. Tel 03 2142 5252

Organic Clean Chickens from DQ Clean Chicken

2009-02-12T23:50:00.004+08:00

I received a flyer in my mailbox the other day - about DQ Clean Chickens. It's one of the flyers I didn't throw out as I wanted to read more about it.

So, DQ chickens are not just free-range chickens but they're also grassfed, no hormones, no steroid, antibiotic free, no pesticides and chemical free. I also read with great interest that the chickens are not debeaked and their grazing area is moved all the time. To me, this is important.

You see, chickens are dirty animals and on normal farms, they would basically live and grow in their own waste. Even free range chickens - they may not be caged but then if they're running around in the same dirty area and there's no more grass to eat?

But these people at DQ rotate the hens every few days so that they not only have new grass, but their waste gets dried up and becomes fertiliser.

One of these days I will try one of these clean chickens. To date, I haven't yet bought any chicken to cook as it's a lot of one person. But I have tried out their eggs (only because it's the only pack that sell in 6 - the smallest quantity). The eggs are yummy and HUGE - now I know why they cost double the normal eggs!

Anyway, their website is http://www.dqcleanchicken.com/. Do check it out and learn more about the chicken you may be consuming.

They also do home delivery or you can buy from their stockist / agents:

Good4U (home Delivery) 012 331 7173
EcoGreen, TTDI 03 7725 8388
Country Farm Organics 03 7880 9936
Hock Lee, Damansara Heights 03 2094 2807
Villlage Grocer 03 2282 0633

Food Promo at Yo!Sushi

2009-02-11T21:42:00.001+08:00

Honey Coffee @ Black Canyon

2009-01-31T21:44:00.002+08:00

After studying the whole day, decided to have a hearthy dinner. Ended up at Champ's for their Damm Shiok Hokkien Mee. Was delicious but at RM20.90 per bowl it was also Damm Expensive! but I guess was justified with the 2 jumbo prawns and pork ribs.

After, felt like a nice cup of coffee and decided to go to Black Canyon for thier Espresso with Honey. Yum!

Pulau Tikus, Penang Island

2009-01-26T13:11:00.007+08:00

When I was young, one of the places we would have breakfast at was at Pulau Tikus. The corner shop that sold Hokkien Mee was a firm favourite but when I was young, it used to be too spicy for me so I would opt for the Wantan Mee and the indian apom.

The corner shop closed a long while ago but the Hokkien Mee stall moved to a shophouse perpendicular to the last location. The Hokkien Mee is still yummy, which probably accounts for why this stall was invited to participate in a Penang Food Festival in Adelaide years ago. The soup had enough body and not too diluted, and you can taste the prawn soup. They don't stinge on ingredients either with lean slices of pork and whole prawns.
Dad managed to get some yummy fluffy Indian apom from the stall outside the shop opposite the police station. Between the hokkien mee and the apom, I felt like I was 8 years also again!

After breakfast, we decided to take a walk around the Pulau Tikus marketplace. I love going to markets; the sounds, the sights, the smells. Seeing it was about 2 weeks before Chinese New Year, the market was bustling more than average.
Some photos from around the Pulau Tikus marketplace ..

Eating at Padang Brown in Penang Island

2009-01-26T12:51:00.009+08:00

A few weeks ago, we made a visit to Penang Island. Penang Island is where I first got inspiration to start Food Safari years ago so going back again felt a bit of a homecoming.

Our first stop was at Padang Brown. This place is famous for a 'salad' called "Che Hu" (translation: Green Fish). No, there's no fish in it, but it has jellyfish.
The place also sells yummy popiah (rolls) with crabmeat, and I also like the Penang laksa there. To end the meal, a nice cool glass of fresh coconut water does the trick. The pic below shows the laksa with the coconut water.
As we were eating, there was an Indian man that came walking by with a basket. He told us he was selling curry puff. Now, my Dad is a huge curry puff fan so we had to have it. However, this curry puff was quite unusual. For starters, it was flat and the man put pickled onions (like the ones they put on top of murtabak) on top of it.

The taste was interesting, it was mainly slices of sweet potatoe with curry powder, encased in curry puff pastry. The pickled onions also added an interesting texture and taste to the snack.
This section of Padang Brown (the Chinese section) is opened mainly between 2-6pm. After that, it's closed and the other Indian/Muslim section is opened in th evenings.

There's also a stall which sold some nice looking Nyonya kueh but unfortunately by the time we got there, it was mainly sold out.

The 'Padang' has always been one of my favourite places to eat and it's highly recommended by me.

[Article] Dark secret of the Thai glutinous rice

2009-01-05T00:11:00.002+08:00

2009/01/04
Dark secret of the Thai glutinous rice
By : Sim Bak Heng

Source: http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Sunday/Frontpage/2443479/Article/index_html

MUAR: Watch out if you're buying black glutinous rice in Thailand. It could be just plain white rice dyed black.

Housewife Tan Siew Sin, of Taman Sri Emas, brought back some black glutinous rice from a vacation in Thailand recently, only to discover its dark secret when she soaked it to clean it."The water became as dark as black ink."I soaked it repeatedly but the water remained black in colour.

"I went to a sundry shop and bought a bag of local black glutinous rice and soaked it in water to compare. The water remained clear," she said.

Tan brought her complaint to Bentayan state assemblyman Gwee Tong Hiang yesterday.She said she broke a few grains of the rice from both batches. The Thai rice was white on the inside while the local version was the same as the outside. She suspected the rice had been dyed to fetch a higher price.

"I haven't cooked the rice from Thailand because I'm afraid it might be a health hazard.

"I'm bringing this up in the press to warn people to be extra careful when buying black glutinous rice in Thailand."

Gwee said the sample of the Thai rice Tan had given him would be sent to the Health Ministry to determine whether it had any harmful additives or colouring.

He urged all consumers to take extra care when shopping for food items outside the country.

New Year's Eve Lunch with C & J

2009-01-04T23:24:00.007+08:00

For New Year's Eve, a couple of friends and I decided to have lunch at my new pad. As J is vegetarian, I had to crack my head on what to cook as I normally cook using meat as a flavouring, like bacon, for example.

I thought perhaps a simple pasta dish with salad but then I changed my mine when I had some butter rice at a friend's place earlier that week. Seeing I had some lovely organic basmati rice (housewarming gift from SM), I thought I'd like to try making the butter rice.

Butter rice goes well with some form of curry. So I decided perhaps a vegetable curry. I also had some watercress which I turned into a soup (which was another challenge as it's normally double boiled with pork bones but I had to make a vegetarian version).

Anyway, the final menu turned out as follows:

Organic Basmati Butter Rice

Cooked the basmati rice as per normal, then put some butter, unsalted cashew nuts and raisins in and mixed it all up.

Vegetable Curry
Ingredients: Shallots, garlic, ginger, lotus root, carrots, zuchini, aubergine and potatoes.

Method:

1. Brown the chopped shallots and garlic in oil. Add ground ginger.

2. Mix 1 1/2 tablespoon of Watch Brand Curry powder (it's actually a product of England!!!) with some water into a paste. Pour into shallots/garlic mixture.

3. Put in the lotus root and carrots. Add some water. Boil

4. After a little while, add in rest of vegetable. Boil.

5. Add salt and pepper to taste.

The final product looked like this:
Watercress Soup

Ingredients: Watercress, garlic, some vegetable stock, Knorr Tom Yum cube

OK, so I had to cheat on this. Brown the bruised garlic in some oil. Add 2 tablespoons of vegetable stock powder and 1/2 cube of Tom Yum cube. Add water and watercress. Wala, instant soup! The tom yum cube (or you can use paste too) added a little sour, tangy flavour which complemented the strong flavour of the watercress.

CM, my other guest, also brought some tofu. Nice cold Japanese tofu with oil, thick black sauce topped with fried shallots.

J brought dessert; some yummy slices from Secret Recipe and Bulla's Vanilla ice cream.

That went very well with the Cambodian coffee we had. J wasn't feeling well, so she had the ginger tea that I double boiled the night before.

There's a new place in town .. Moxie

2008-12-30T01:24:00.005+08:00

From the people who brought us Opus and Cava in Bangsar (two places I used to spend way too much time at), they now bring us Moxie.

Situated at Plaza Damansara, it's the latest addition to the already growing F&B outlets in the area.

How different will they be? Guess we'll have to go check them out right?

In the meantime, if you want to have a look at their menu, promotions, location map, etc, go to
http://moxie.my/

Moxie
44 -44M Plaza Damansara
Jalan Medan Setia 2
Bukit Damansara
50490 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03 2095 0016

Ginger and Fresh Veges from Bukit Tinggi Village

2008-12-27T22:35:00.004+08:00

Today, on the way back from Berjaya Hills, I stopped by Bukit Tinggi Village to get some old ginger. The ginger here is really yummy and huge! They grow it in this areas so it's really fresh.

Also got some fresh green veges like long beans, and some other leafy stuff for boiling soup and stir fry.

Cooking the Ginger
1) Get a few thumb size pieces of old ginger (I don't like using young ginger because there's not enough oomph and after a few hours, it tend to get sour, like it's going off!)
2) peel the skin off
3) take something heavy and bruise it
4) put it in the crockpot with water
5) add pandan leaves
6) add red dates (optional)
7) cook overnight

If you don't have a crockpot, you can just boil it normally for about 45 minutes or so. However, the flavour won't be as intense; you can add more ginger then.

Simple Pasta Dish in 15 minutes

2008-12-23T14:41:00.005+08:00

Today a friend came over for lunch. As it was a meeting cum lunch, I had to whip up something really quick. Still don't have any meat in the house so I made a simple pasta dish with what I had.

Ingredients
Spiral Pasta
Chopped garlic
Carrot (used the peeler to make it into carrot ribbons)
Yellow Pepper (cut into strips)
Pesto
Can of Tuna Flakes in Water
Commercial Pasta Sauce

Steps
Cook the pasta, drain

For the sauce
1) olive oil into the pan
2) add chopped garlic, wait for a minute
3) add 1 teaspoon of pesto, wait for a while
4) add the carrot and peppers with a little bit of water, and simmer
5) add some Pasta sauce, simmer
6) add the Tuna
6) add the cooked pasta and mix

Wala, a meal in about 15 minutes!

Buffalo Wings ... flown to your doorstep!

2008-12-18T23:59:00.003+08:00

Does anyone else wonder why drummettes are called buffalo wings? Or is it just me???

[Article] Foods You'll Want to Taste While in France

2008-11-20T18:27:00.002+08:00

After reading this, I'm thinking .. French-themed dinner anyone? I'm good with everything except the frog legs .. :)

Foods You'll Want to Taste While in France
Adapted From: France For Dummies, 4th Edition
http://www.dummies.com/WileyCDA/DummiesArticle/id-5275.html?cid=etipArticleLink?cid=articleFeature

Tasting the amazing cuisine of France is one of the best reasons for visiting the country. Being adventurous is key: Many of the best foods in France are rarely seen in the United States — and if they are, they taste better in France. You can put your trust in French chefs because they take great pride in the freshness and preparation of their food. Restaurant meals, with five to seven courses, last several hours, so you'll need to pace yourself (and don't fill up on bread, no matter how wonderful it is).

Café au lait (ca-fay oh LAY)
Café au laitis espresso with steamed milk (similar to a latté you'd order at any American coffee bar), and it's the perfect eye-opener for the morning or pick-me-up for the afternoon. It's sometimes called a café crème. No, it isn't American coffee — it's much better. What many French people drink for a quick pick-me-up during the day and also after meals is un espresso, a tiny cup of very strong . . . well, espresso. For decaffeinated, ask for café decaffeiné or un déca.

Croissant (kwah-SAWN)
These popular breakfast rolls are pretty much available around the world now, but if you think you know all about croissants, think again. Croissants in France, a staple at every bakery in the country, taste very different from ones you get in other countries. They're light, flaky, and irresistibly buttery.

Pain au chocolat (PAN o shawk-oh-LAH)
A kids' favorite, this delicious breakfast pastry is a square croissant filled with dark chocolate, and you're likely to find one at any bakery (pâtisserie) in the country. The French eat a light (continental) breakfast of a croissant and pastry with coffee. That way, they save up big appetites for lunch and dinner, which are multicourse extravaganzas.

Croque-monsieur (croak mis-SYER)
Croque-monsieuris ham and melted cheese on a croissant, usually served open-faced. Available at most cafes, it's the perfect light lunch sandwich. A croque madame is the same but with a grilled egg on top.

Escargot (es-car-GO)
Yes, like Lucy Ricardo (remember that episode of I Love Lucy?), while in France you need to try snails, served in their shells with lots of butter, garlic, and parsley. They're luscious, tender little treats, but what you'll taste most is garlic. Snails are a true French delicacy.

Bouillabaisse (booh-ya-BESSE)
This hearty fish stew, a meal in itself, is the specialty of Provence (especially Marseille) and the Riviera. At some restaurants, the fish — many types — is served separately from the broth. When you're served the soup, you may also be served round, toasted pieces of bread and a hot peppery sauce called rouille. What you do is spread the sauce on the bread and plop the bread into the stew or pour the broth over the bread. Then you can add the fish or consume it separately. A cousin of bouillabaisse is bourride, another authentic fish soup in vogue along the Mediterranean.

Cuisses de grenouilles (cweess duh gre-NOO-yuh)
Frogs' legs do taste a little like chicken, but they're saltier and more delicate. You'll find the best examples of this classic French dish in the Loire Valley.

Pâté de foie gras (pat-ay duh fwoh GRAH)
A staple of every fancy restaurant in France is goose liver pâté, which is often à la maison (homemade) and poêlé (pan-fried). Rich and creamy, with dense flavor and a delicate texture, pâté de foie gras is a quintessential French food.

Des truffes (des TROOF)
France's most expensive food, delectable truffes (truffles) are a rare kind of black fungus (like mushrooms) that need to be dug out of the ground by special dogs or pigs trained for the task of locating them. Truffle season is November to March. Truffles appearing on any dish (aux truffes) up the price of the meal by 25 or more euros ($30). Look for them particularly on omelets and pasta.

Chariot de fromage (chair-ree-aht duh frwoh-MAZH)
Ah, the chariot of cheese: brie, camembert, Roquefort, chèvre, Gruyère, and so on. At the best restaurants, the selection of cheeses is so enormous, it must be wheeled to you on a trolley. When the waiter brings it over, ask which are the best cheeses of the region ("Les fromages de la region?"), and choose which ones you want by pointing to several. The waiter will serve them, and you can eat them with a knife and fork.

Tarte tartin, soupe de fraises, ile flotant, crème brûlée, mousse au chocolat (tart tah-TIHN, soup duh FREZ, eel flo-TAHNT, krem bruh-LAY, moose oh shawk-oh-LAH)
Apple tart, boozy strawberry soup, floating island (meringue with a custard sauce), custard topped with caramel, chocolate mousse . . . and the list goes on. Having dessert in a French restaurant is reason enough to visit the country. C'était bon!

Genting presents the King of Modern British Cuisine

2008-11-20T13:49:00.003+08:00

Genting will be bringing their Chef John King from Genting Stanley's UK to cook at The Olive from 22nd - 30th November 2008. This should be a very good dining experience!

[T&L] Adventures on a Chocolate Planet

2008-10-22T14:07:00.002+08:00

In anticipation of my next trip to Melbourne ...

Adventures on a Chocolate Planet
http://www.travelandleisure.com.au/roaming_reporter/

Ever since the conquistadors brought back the Central American chocolate bean to the courts of Europe chocolate has retained both an exotic and an elitist flavour. (The new Spanish wife of Louis XIII decreed in 1615 that it could only be consumed by members of the French aristocracy.)

This is only reinforced in the opening this month of a new Mecca for chocoholics in Melbourne, Monsieur Truffe.

A French chocolatier of high distinction, Mr Truffe has expanded from the cramped quarters of Prahan Market into an artfully grungy shopfront on Collingwood's Smith Street. Recycled tables and chairs and an old-fashioned revolving atlas team with distressed designer wallpaper, while exquisite hot chocolate and tissanes are consumed from grandmotherly tea sets. The place has an intimate, homey feel, reinforced when softly-spoken proprietor, Thibault Fregoni, comes over to explain, in passionate detail, the provenance of the cocao beans (Papua New Guinea), and the fine gradations of caramel, honey and almond in his eponymous chocolate bars.

Monsieur Truffe takes it place in a select but burgeoning firmament of boutique chocolate shops in Melbourne. St Kilda favourite Cacao is still going strong – try their punchy Mocha – while the City's Cocoa-le-art is thriving in its second year – great chocolate mice – but current kings of the chocolate castle (and in danger of losing boutique status) are Koko Black – now in Carlton, the CBD, Camberwell, Chadstone and Canberra. For the city's most expensive chocolate (around $500 for four), go to the Chocolateria San Churro on Fitzroy's Brunswick Street and fork out for the Truffla del Oro, a dizzying mix of Venezuelan single origin chocolate, Moet & Chandon vintage champagne and 23-carat edible gold.

Of course, there's barely a self-respecting city anywhere in the world that wouldn't think to offer its own version of the cultured chocolate shop. For many years, Cafe Angelina, on Paris's Rue de Rivoli, was a personal place of genteel, if touristy, pilgrimage, for its super-creamy and world-famous hot chocolate. More recently, frequent work trips to San Francisco often involve a guilty pre-commute visit to Michael Recchiuti's artisan store in the iconic Ferry Building Marketplace. But my all time favourite is chocolate salon, Le Chocolat de H, in Tokyo's Ropongi Hills. It's hard to beat a truffle plate and a glass of red wine after an afternoon buying discounted shirts at Issey Miyake.

For those whose love of chocolate borders on the obsessive, the chocolate planet offers even more extended opportunities for the worship and enjoyment of the food of the gods. Try New York's 'sweet walks', visit Vienna's first Chocolate Museum and spend whole weekends at a time pursuing your passion in Chocolate Festivals from Virginia to New Brunswick to Dublin. As if gluttons for punishment, local Melbourne company, Chocoholic Tours, are even offering extra events by appointment during these school holidays. Get on the phone! I'll avoid the kids, and try and make it to Monsieur Truffe's tasting in late October...

Have you got a favourite chocolate shop at home or abroad?

Want to see me tackle a particular travel topic - or just want to talk direct? E-mail me on simon.westcott@bigpond.com

More thoughts on travel, the arts and life in the bush on www.prospecthouse.com.au

Simon Westcott, a former Lonely Planet publisher, is also a contributing editor to Travel + Leisure Australia magazine.

[Book Review] Dishing it out

2008-10-14T10:41:00.002+08:00

Dishing it out

October 14, 2008

Spitting in food is so passe. A book of waiters' rants lifts the lid on their revenge tactics.
By Kirsten Lawson.

EAT, drink and be wary. Waiter Rant is the kind of inside expose that can put you off eating out. It paints a picture of an industry rife with rip-offs and insincerity, where waiters are not so much out to look after you as to extract money, hoodwink and exact revenge.

Waiter Rant is a book by New York waiter Steve Dublanica, which grew out of his popular blog, http://waiterrant.net. It gives the lowdown on the upmarket end of New York eating, where the main preoccupation of the waiting staff at his Italian restaurant seems to be how much they can make in tips.

And if you upset your waiter, watch out.

Waiters do spit in food, Dublanica writes, although he prefers psychological revenge and power plays. Like embarrassing you by pretending your credit card has a problem, engaging in subtle put-downs in front of your dining companions, losing your reservation, seating you next to the men's room and much worse. These tactics are usually reserved, it seems, for truly objectionable, abusive customers. But if you don't tip properly, watch out.

More commonly, it's a game of subtle manipulation. When you ask what's good in a restaurant, the waiter will point you to the dish that the chef wants to move - because there is too much of it, or it's in danger of going off.

"A good server can make a customer order anything he or she feels like selling," Dublanica says, recounting an exchange with a customer who wanted pollo cardinale.

" 'Pollo cardinale's usually served in autumn, sir," I explain. 'To celebrate new year's, the chef's offering the traditional winter dishes he grew up with in Tuscany.' My explanation is complete and utter bullshit." The most difficult customers are foodies, who want to know whether the salmon is farmed, the fish frozen, the chicken free-range, the balsamic fancy.

"Foodies are usually middle-aged people who fancy themselves (as) experts on food, wine and the finer points of table service," he writes. "There's nothing wrong with being a gourmand, but foodies are not gourmands. They're gourmand wannabes. Foodies think they can watch one TV show and become the food critic for the New York Times."

Another revelation in the book is the amount of information restaurants hold on their diners. Their databases help them track not only birthdays, favourite waiters and special requests, but also record addresses, credit card details, and allow staff to keep notes on people - how good you are at tipping, how long you take to eat, whether they like you or not.

"Here's a dining tip: if you never get the table you want at your favourite restaurant, or if reservations on a special day are always hard to come by, someone at that restaurant doesn't like you," he reveals.

How to be a good customer:

- Make reservations and keep them. On a Friday or Saturday night it's not unusual for 20% of a restaurant's reservations not to show up. Not only is that rude, it hurts the restaurant's bottom line, forcing management to overbook. If you've ever wondered why your table's never ready when you show up for your reservation on time, that's usually the reason.

- If you're going to be late for your reservation, please call. After half an hour you might not get the special table you requested, but you'll still get in. An hour late? Don't even bother.

- Never say, I'm friends with the owner. Restaurant owners don't have friends. This marks you as a clueless poseur the moment you walk in the door.

- Leave your children at home if possible.

- Be polite. Say please and thank you.

- Never say, Do you know who I am? "Why? Did you forget who you are?"

- Do not snap your fingers to get the waiter's attention. Remember, we have shears that cut through bone in the kitchen.

- Do not use your mobile phone in the restaurant. Unless you're a heart-transplant surgeon on standby, turn it off.

- Please make your server go through the specials only once.

- When ordering wine, don't sniff the cork.

- The secret to being treated like a regular customer? Be a regular customer.

- If you can't afford to tip, you can't afford to eat in the restaurant.

From Waiter Rant. Behind the scenes of eating out by A.Waiter. John Murray. $35.

This story was found at: http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2008/10/13/1223749889473.html

[Article] Wild food, niche health targeting and customisation identified among ten top trends for 2009

2008-10-09T17:16:00.001+08:00

Wild food, niche health targeting and customisation identified among ten top trends for 2009
Author: Justin Smith
Source: BI-ME
Published: 09-10-2008

INTERNATIONAL. food&drink towers today publishes its widely anticipated ‘ten top trends’ report. The third annual edition of the trends report will be officially published at the food&drink towers second birthday networking party, to be held in London.

The exclusive new report highlights a wealth of new product development and marketing opportunities for brands in 2009, which is set to be some of the most turbulent and difficult years for the food&drink industry.

Helen Lewis, author of the report and managing director of food&drink towers, said: “The annual trends report always receives the highest number of hits on the website and each year more and more people register to download their free copy. Its popularity is not surprising: staying on top of emerging and future trends is not only imperative in today’s competitive market, but it can be pretty expensive too."The whole ethos behind food&drink towers, which was established two years ago on 9 October 2006, is to make life easier for everyone involved in the industry: PRs, journalists, producers, retailers, suppliers, and even consumers. Reports like this usually come at a premium but we wanted to offer our loyal registered members a chance to thrive during the credit crunch rather than crumble, so it’s completely free.”

Some findings from the report include:
• “With consumers becoming more aware of the negative impact on their health of artificial ingredients such as trans fats and artificial sweeteners, products must be open and honest about the ingredients they choose to use.”
• “Beauty may only be skin deep but the food and drink industry has cottoned on to our desire to be beautiful for longer. Anti-ageing, anti-blemish, anti-this, anti-that products are all appearing on shelves, some making fairly grandiose promises.”
• “As well as making life easier for people on the go, the notion of ‘instant nutrition’ is also predicted to make an impact on NPD in food and drink over the next year. Instant nutrition refers to the idea that people can purchase a product that provides a couple of portions of their five-a-day in one serving, or that is packed with more antioxidants than they’d get eating three platefuls of vegetables.”
• “One in three consumers are becoming more self-sufficient by growing their own fruit and vegetables.”

“In 2009, there will be plenty of opportunities for innovative, fast-thinking, reactive and flexible brands. Despite the credit crunch, the food and drink industry does have options. Consumers are increasingly choosing to stay in and cook a ‘special meal’ rather than pay restaurant prices," said Lewis, also a freelance food and drink journalist.

"We’ve covered many stories about this on the news pages at food&drink towers, and expect plenty more headlines along the same vein in 2009. There is, therefore, room for healthy, ethical, premium and unusual brands, but they must keep their promises and above all, should guarantee high quality and full flavour to avoid losing out to the competition."

The top trends for 2008 are:
• Artificial intelligence
• Beauty foods
• Cost-cutters
• Fast-food nation
• Grow your own
• Meet more unusual meat
• Niche health targeting
• Customisation
• Performance boosters
• The personal touch

Registered members of food&drink towers can download the report, free of charge, at http://www.foodanddrinktowers.com/

Registration is free and once registered you can access the daily news stories, press release archive, features, competitions, events information and much more on the food and beverage industry.

[Article] Which chopping board is worse for spreading germs?

2008-09-24T17:23:00.004+08:00

Which chopping board is worse for spreading germs?

From http://health.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=165896

We always endeavor to bring you the latest information and we would like to update advice given in our chopping board story. Do not put wooden boards in the microwave to clean.

The test
Whether you are slicing, dicing or carving, a good chopping board is an essential piece of kitchen equipment. But have you ever wondered which kind of chopping board is best to use? Plastic, marble and wood are all popular surfaces.

Our reporter Leila McKinnon finds out if they're as clean as they look and if they harbour any hidden germs?

It's not about being houseproud — it can literally be a matter of life and death. Bacteria like salmonella and E.coli breed on your board — these can cause serious food poisoning and even be fatal.

But does what your board's made out of make a difference?

Back in the '90s, Europe's environmental health investigators decided wood was unhygienic and plastic much cleaner. It became the rule in restaurants and canteens for wood to be given the chop. Instead everyone was picking up the plastic and chef Aaron Ogden says that's still the way it works at the city college in San Francisco where he trains the next generation of chefs.

"The wooden cutting boards … they get broken and cracked so we've gone to a plastic cutting board, it holds up much better for students. They can clean them very well and they don't harbour lot of bacteria," he says.

Well, that's Aaron's theory. But is he right? And where does marble come into the picture?

Leila visits microbiologist Dean Cliver at the University of California. He's studied how bacteria behave on different surfaces.

Professor Cliver and his assistant Edward are going to help us out with a little experiment using marble, wood and plastic chopping boards.

"What we are going to do is put on some harmless E. coli let it dry in place and try and wash it off with common dish detergent and then afterwards see how much stayed behind. So we'll put the same amount on each board, in the middle, and then we'll give it a little time to soak in and dry off before we try to remove it," says Professor Cliver.

After 15 minutes the boards are handwashed in hot water and detergent. Next, samples are taken from the middle of the boards, where the bacteria were applied.

Edward also takes samples from the edge of each board.

Now, we need to give them time to multiply.

Leila: "Okay in the incubator with those?"
Professor: "Yes, at 37 degrees, and tomorrow afternoon, hopefully we'll know what the answer is."

Will that answer show wood's wonderful, marble's marvellous or that plastic really is fantastic?

We'll find out when the bugs have had time to breed.

Results
The boards have been contaminated with E. coli — genetically modified to become fluorescent under UV light.

We're looking at the amount of white stuff that's grown on top of our gels.

Marble board: few signs of bacteria.

Professor Cliver: "That was from the inoculated area and there are relatively few colonies."

Wood board: thin layer of bacteria.

Professor Cliver: "This is from the wood board and here we have colonies, more or less wall-to-wall, but in a thin layer."

Plastic board: more bacteria than the others.

Professor Cliver: "The plastic has a heavier growth than the wood and much more than on the marble board, so this one is the least clean after having been washed.

So plastic's out. We're down to two.

When just the middle of the board is sampled, marble wins. But for samples from the outer parts of the boards, it was a completely different story.

"The one that has too many colonies to count is from the marble board," Professor Cliver.

On the smooth marble, bacteria had spread everywhere, contaminating the entire surface.

Whereas, for the wood the bacteria grew only where they were applied — they didn't spread, leaving a much cleaner surface overall.

ConclusionSo on our chopping board scorecard, plastic comes a definite last and that's because bacteria are able to breed in the cuts left by knives.

Marble came in second because bacteria spread everywhere. Marble also loses points because it's tough on knives.

In the final wash-up, it was wood that blew the competition out of the water. This is no surprise to Professor Cliver. In many similar experiments, wood's always been a winner.

Leila: "Why is wood so much better?"
Professor Cliver: "It's a very porous material and the fluid is drawn into the wood by capillary action and if there are bacteria in the fluid they go in and they never come back alive."
Leila: "So the wooden boards kill the bacteria?"
Professor: "Well, they die off slowly. It may take a few hours, but all the same, they aren't in a position to cause any trouble."
Leila: "So wood's the way to go?"
Professor: "In my opinion."

But the professor adds a rider — be sure to choose a tight-grained hardwood board. If the wood's too soft, those pesky bacteria can multiply in deep knife cuts.

So it's official — wooden chopping boards are back in from the cold. They're knife friendly, they kill bacteria and if looked after properly, they can last for years.

Fast facts
Whatever board you choose to use, do you know the best way to keep it germ-free? For plastic, spray it with a mist of vinegar followed by diluted bleach or hydrogen peroxide. To care for your wooden board, don't' soak it for hours, a quick scrub will do.

Asia's Miele Guide to be launched!

2008-09-22T17:51:00.002+08:00

The inaugural edition of The Miele Guide, Asia’s first truly independent and authoritative restaurant guide will launch on 31 October 2008 at a star-studded dinner held in Singapore. The 2008/2009 edition of this new annual guide will then be available at major bookstores throughout Asia on 1 November 2008.

Written by expert food lovers who know and love Asia, this 2008/2009 edition will be the first restaurant guide to measure the best restaurants in the region by Asian standards. At the same time, as it sets new benchmarks in the Asian culinary sphere, the very best restaurants in Asia will fittingly be given the credence due to them with the launch of the Guide.

Starting with this first edition, The Miele Guide will annually publish a list of Asia’s 20 best restaurants. These restaurants will be numerically ranked and profiled in-depth. In addition, the Guide will list the other 300 best restaurants from across the region, categorised by country, city and cuisine. This first edition evaluates restaurants in 16 Asian countries—Brunei, Cambodia, China (including Hong Kong and Macau), India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.

The 2008/2009 edition and this year’s list of Top 20 Restaurants will be unveiled at The Miele Guide Dinner, a chic gala event hosted at the Grand Hyatt Singapore on 31 October 2008. The Dinner will be attended by approximately 350 guests, comprising of a veritable who’s who of Asia’s F&B scene. All chefs and restaurateurs whose establishments have been methodically selected to be in the 2008/2009 edition have been invited.

The slim, elegant and affordable Guide, which will retail at US$15, will be for every traveller, foodie and business person looking to dine in Asia.

Breads in Penang!

2008-09-22T17:43:00.002+08:00

I saw this article yesterday in http://thestar.com.my/metro/story.asp?file=/2008/9/21/sundaymetro/2042104&sec=SundayMetro and can't wait to try it out on my next trip to Penang!!!

Organic bakers
PENANG By HELEN ONG

Jesse Tan, 29, has got more than just good looks in common with his identical twin brother Jerry: they are both organic bakers.

Working from the rustic little family-run Rainforest Bakery in Chulia Street, the brothers are starting to make a name for themselves by providing decent hand-made organic breads to Penangites which, once tasted, are never forgotten.

“Home-made bread is heavier, and the tastes and textures are completely different,” Jesse instructed us. “We use different methods to bring out certain unique fragrances”.
It all started when father Tan Boo Geok opened up the Rainforest Restaurant, a cafe-style eatery attached to the Olive Spring Hotel which is connected to the bakery. It was one of the first places in town to serve affordable, authentic western food like home-made soups, Lassi, salads and fresh or grilled sandwiches to backpackers.

“Our foreign guests kept commenting on the many different types of breads that they miss from back home,” he explained.

Jesse enrolled on a local baking course, after which he started making his own bread. However, this was not enough and he took off for London where he learnt a lot about organic baking.

“‘Organic’ does not just mean the ingredients used, but also the method of making the breads as well. We don’t use enhancers, preservatives, improvers or conditioners,” he explained.

They stick to tried-and-tested traditional methods which rely purely on good basic raw material: flour, salt, yeast and water. That is why the breads are heavier, with more body and uneven textures, a more satisfying experience altogether.

Over the next three years, he toured Europe, working and spending time in as many different types of bakeries as he could in countries like France, Germany, Italy and the Czech Republic €“ all places which are of course famous for their baguettes, ciabattas and brot (bread).

“Whenever I hit a town or city I would try and get into a local bread shop and learn from the head baker,” he added.

A few years ago, he finally returned to the family business in Penang, where he brought Jerry up to date on what he had picked up abroad.

Nowadays the brothers share the title “Chief Baker”, producing fresh bread every morning from the premises in Chulia Street.

They introduce a new type of bread or roll every month, experimenting with different flours and ingredients, and continue to receive feedback and ideas from expatriate friends and guests who visit their establishment from all over the world.

“Jerry and I discuss new ideas between ourselves and give each other feedback,” he said.
The Rainforest Bakery is open from Mondays to Saturdays from 9am to 8pm. If you’re interested, give them a call at 04-261 4641.

Helen Ong is a self-confessed foodie who loves to hunt down the best of Penang. She is the author of the book Great Dining in Penang.

Rainforest Bakery
Chulia Street
Penang

Feasting and Fellowship

2008-09-22T00:12:00.002+08:00

One of my favourite things to do during the month of Ramadhan, when my Muslim friends fast from dawn to dusk, is to visit the food bazaars around the suburbs, have a little walk around and then take away the food that I like.

Today, we went over to BB's place to 'buka puasa' (break fast) with her. After watching Broadway Parodies Lagi Lah at KLPAC, we went to the Section 17 Ramadhan Food Bazaar. We got there around 6pm so lots of food was finished by then but we still managed to get a good selection which included murtabak, satay, roti John, various types of keropok lekor, roast chicken, cucur pisang, as well as some desserts - the pink sago thing with coconut, onde-onde, tako and more!

We took this back to her place and soon everyone came over. We had a great time over good food and great conversation. So much better than going to break fast in some hotel which would have cost us like around RM100 per head.

Hmm...wonder which Food Bazaar we should head to next week ....???

Chef Anton Mosimann is returning to Genting 25-28 September 2008

2008-09-16T11:45:00.002+08:00

Chef Anton Mosimann will be returning to The Olive @ Genting for this year's Michelin star dining. Actually, it looks like they are only bring him back unlike previous years which saw the program stretch out with various Michelin star chefs over a much longer period. And Chef Mosimann is only coming for 4 days.

Having had the opportunity to taste his Mosimann's food last year, it was something that made my tastbuds go "wow!" I decided that's how I will judge my meals these days; it must make me want more of the same dish, it must make me want to return to the same restaurant / outlet to try other dishes and at the end of the dinner, I want to go "Wow!"

I wonder what Mosimann will be cooking this year?

For more information, visit
http://www.genting.com.my/en/fb/michelin_star/index.htm

To learn more about Anton Mosimann go to his website. It contains information not just about his restaurant, but also the Mosimann Academy (you can learn to cook there!), party catering services (You can hire him for a party!) and more ...
http://www.mosimann.com/

Breaking Fast with a twist!

2008-09-16T11:00:00.005+08:00

Buka puasa (breaking fast) with a twist!

The fish 'buka puasa' by nibbling on you ... then you 'buka' by nibbling .. no, not on them :), but on real food. I wonder if fish is on the menu?

At RM80 nett it's not a bad deal, considering the prices of 'normal' buka puasa dinners around the Klang Valley especially in hotels.

Genting - City of Eat, Eat, Eat

2008-06-28T10:01:00.003+08:00

Looks like there's going to be a food fest up at Genting Highlands Resort in the coming months ...

July 1-14: There's the Perak Food Fest at Restoran Kampung
July 1 - Aug 8: It's the Food and Fruits Fiesta at First World Cafe. They normally put out some pretty decent durians so it's all you can eat durian plus other Malaysian fruits.

But what I'm looking forward to is the Middle Eastern Food Promotion at Restoran Kampung. The food they had last year was really interesting and I got to try different types of middle eastern food, all at the buffet. If it's not to your palate so much, don't worry, the really great thing about the lunch (only) buffet at Restoran Kampung is that you also get to take the food from Resort Cafe which is joint to it and they serve mainly chinese food there.

I think Restoran Kampung is my favourite eating place at Genting because the food is always very tasty there. They also normally tend to cater for the tourist groups so the Indian food there is delicious too.

There's also rumours of there being a Sarawak Food promotion in August and I'm sure with the 8 of August 2008 thing, there will be some special promotion too. This is Genting afterall ...

The biggest rumour is that Anton Mossimon, the Michelin star chef will be coming back to The Olive again. Now that's something worth waiting for ...and driving up the hill for :)

More on the July promotions at http://www.genting.com.my/en/rwbnews/2008/fb_july2008.htm

[Article] Secret Diners' Business

2008-06-20T13:26:00.002+08:00

Secret diners' business
From The Age
June 14, 2008

Leanne Tolra joins a growing crowd of foodies at the city's 'secret' speakeasy restaurants.

Mrs Feng is a formidable host, a dedicated vegetarian and one of Hong Kong's growing band of "secret" restaurant owners. "You see my son," she demands as soon as we are seated. "He is 11 years old, he is strong and he's never eaten meat. He eats only my cooking."

I'm thinking he's a little on the pudgy side, actually, and can see my companions are in agreement. But we are so intrigued by the venue, the woman herself, the elaborate-looking plates of food arriving at our table (and the thrill of being let in on a "secret") that none of us spares him more than a polite glance before his mother answers the phone and he makes his escape.

The phone rings incessantly - and Feng flicks furiously through her booking diary each time. For a speakeasy kitchen, as Hong Kong's hidden dining venues are known, it seems pretty high profile.

"I am very popular, so I am scared they will try to close me down," she says.

Veggie Palace has been in this location, on the second storey of a commercial building just outside Kowloon's central business district, for almost 12 months. It is Feng's second restaurant. Her first, Veggie Culture, is in Causeway Bay and has been operating in a residential building for almost six years. She began cooking for her husband's art students. As her reputation as a vegetarian cook grew, students began to make bookings and a restaurant business blossomed. Feng says the previous owners of her second restaurant "lost millions" but she's tantalisingly reluctant to say how.

Rents have been driven so high in this city of almost 7 million people that restaurant owners have gone up and underground at the same time. This avoids exorbitant ground-floor rental prices and the prohibitive cost of a restaurant licence.

The trend began nine years ago and some locals say it increased during the SARS scare in April 2003. People were afraid to eat in public restaurants and preferred the idea of small, private ones.

"In Hong Kong, to have a restaurant licence, one-third of the floor area must be allocated to the kitchen," Feng says. This makes it difficult to generate enough income to make ends meet.

So the speakeasy kitchens operate under "club" licences, with less rigid rules. They must comply with fire and hygiene regulations, guest numbers are limited and guests are required to be club members.

There are dozens of them in the city and hotel concierges are the best source of local knowledge. Some hotels offer guided tours or will happily direct tourists to these not-so-secret locations. Our guide is the Langham Hotel's Winny Mui, a savvy young woman with a sense of fun and a built-in radar. She takes us to three speakeasy kitchens in a single afternoon. Each could belong in a different city.

Mui negotiates taxi fares and makes many phone calls as we near each venue, delaying arrival times as we linger and negotiating menus for us.

Our second stop is Le Marron, a French restaurant in Causeway Bay. We wander along laneways, past street vendors and take a clunking, claustrophobic ride up several storeys in a residential lift. Our guide presses a doorbell and we are transported to provincial France. Lace curtains divide dining compartments. Faux antique chairs and tables, gilded wallpaper, elegant artwork and muted lighting set the scene.

Le Marron is owned by a partnership that includes an artist who lived in France for 20 years and an interior designer. Its manager, Toh Yeung, says patrons make bookings a week ahead and know to ring the doorbell when they arrive.

We drink French wine with dishes such as marinated foie gras, scampi sashimi glazed with white truffle oil and rare herb-crusted tuna. For dessert we are served a 20-year-old liqueur to accompany a souffle laced with Grand Marnier.

One more taxi ride through the city to central Hong Kong and we arrive at Club Qing. Ornate, solid timber doors with heavy latches open to reveal one of the city's more famous speakeasy kitchens. Club Qing is decorated in the style of the Qing dynasty (1644-1911AD), featuring dark timber antiques and Chinese artefacts.

Owner Any Lam was running an IT business when the SARS crisis hit. His passion for Cantonese food, love of antiques and interest in tea set him on a new career path. Lam says about half his customers are local, the other half are international visitors. "We have had some publicity in the media and on internet blogs," he says.

Lam changes his menu every three months. Most dishes arrive with an accompanying beverage, either a delicately brewed tea or an infusion of fruits and herbs. There's a strong Cantonese bent with an international twist: a single prawn is topped with Italian pesto and served on a banana leaf with slivers of lemongrass. It arrives with a lemongrass-and-lemon-leaf tea, and the unorthodox combination works.

This is clearly our guide's favourite venue. She cleverly saved herself for these dishes and is delighted with the ricepaper-wrapped banana served in a katafi pastry "bird's nest", flavoured with rose tea. "Eat first, then drink," says Lam, as he serves us a ginger infusion blended with soda water.

Mui says tourists love the thrill of the secret and the exclusiveness of the speakeasy restaurants but she believes the food has to speak for itself. She says each of the three restaurants we visited has a cult-like following and international guests return frequently.

Other speakeasy kitchens of note in Hong Kong include Xi Yan, a four-year-old venue in a commercial building in Wanchai, which serves contemporary Chinese food; Yellow Door Kitchen, which claims to be Hong Kong's first private kitchen; and Da Ping Huo. Both Yellow Door and Da Ping Huo serve Sichuan cuisine.

Interestingly, a number of these venues have their own websites, which invite tourists, encourage bookings and display menus and location maps. Sort of spoils the secret.

Leanne Tolra travelled courtesy of the Langham Hotel, Hong Kong.

For information on some of the better-known speakeasy restaurants, see http://www.marron.com.hk,
http://www.clubqing.com and
http://www.yellowdoorkitchen.com.hk.

Source: http://www.theage.com.au/news/food--wine/secret-diners-business/2008/06/12/1212863812034.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap2

Gourmet Safari Down Under

2008-05-15T00:14:00.004+08:00

Perhaps something more affordable, Aussie Maeve O'Meara offers one-day meanderings mainly around her hometown of Sydney - check out the Indulgence Safari, for those with a sweet tooth (me! me!).

Maeve also organises week long gourmet safaris to various Australian and International destinations (like Greece, Bali and Vietnam) AND if you want to indulge in more, like shop, spa and stuff yourself, there's her Gorgeous Safari where you will be pampered by massages, facials, shopping and feasting. Now THAT's a safari! :)

For more information, visit http://www.gourmetsafaris.com.au/

Take me on a Gourmet Safari

2008-05-15T00:03:00.004+08:00

I came across this site, Gourmet Safari, which organises culinary tours to Italy, France, Spain and Morocco. Imagine cooking in a farmhouse in Tuscany, drinking wine in Provence, having an authentic paella in Spain and tasting the delights of Morocco.

Going on this would definitely be a dream come true and I'm going to add this to my list of Dream Journeys ....

http://www.gourmetsafari.com/

Curtis Stone - Take ME Home!

2008-05-09T13:14:00.004+08:00

It was too good to resist, dinner cooked by Curtis Stone, the Take Home Chef. The question to answer was, "Why would you like to have dinner with Curtis Stone?" Why?? Well, who wouldn't want to have dinner with a guy who had just been voted one of the sexiest men alive and he cooks too?? Anyway, I said that Curtis Stone has made a mundane chore like cooking exciting, inviting and sexy! (somewhere along those lines anyway). I mean, if I had to choose dinner with Curtis Stone or Gordon Ramsay, who do you think I'd choose?

Anyway, one fine Tuesday evening, about 150 diners congregated at the Hilton Kuala Lumpur Ballroom to "spend the evening" with Mr Stone. I was very pleasantly surprised upon registration to receive a copy of Curtis Stone's latest book Cooking with Curtis: Easy, Everyday and Adventurous Recipes for the Home Cook which I was told he would autograph later. The book is great with fantastic photos by photographer Craig Kinder.

We were ushered into the Ballrooom and proceeded to our assigned tables. I met some lovely dinner companions for that evening and we had some great and crazy conversations. Amazing how food can bring people together :)

With much fanfare, Curtis arrived and proceeded to give us a demo of a similar dish he would serve that evening - tagliatelle with lobster. He made it look SO easy and I'm sure it tasted good too.

Onto the dinner that we were served .. there were 4 courses all in all ...including

Salad of Grilled Portobello Mushroom topped with Ricotta and Semi Dried Tomatoes

Skewered Shirmps marinated with Garlic, Olive Oil and Lemon

Homemade Tagliatelle with Tomatoes and roasted chicken breast (originally this was chicken sausage)

and Chocolate Cheese Cake.

Sounds yummy? I'll let some the photos speak for themselves (do excuse the colour of the shrimp and pasta course - they dimmed the lighting in the ballroom and i don't really like using flash when taking photos of food ..)

The night ended with an autograph session by Curtis Stone and while I'm not normally a person who would be bothered lining up but seeing I was there and everyone else was lining up anyway .. and with D looking at me at disbelief that I was actually going to line up .. I did line up, and got him to sign my copy of hisbook Cooking with Curtis: Easy, Everyday and Adventurous Recipes for the Home Cook . Astro, the organisers were even nice enough to provide a photographer to take Polaroids of us with him.

My question to Mr Stone that night was "Have you tried durian yet?" to which he screwed up his sexy face, smiled and said, "Yes, but I'm not sure if I like it .. but I'd like to try it again~!"

It was a real fun night and I look forward to more .. in the meantime, if you still can't get enough of Curtis Stone, here's a few links you may be interested in ..

Curtis Stone website (also features his kitchen range - i want the Bump and Grind!!!!)

TLC: Take Home Chef Fan website (it's got recipes, videos, etc too..)

And Curtis, if you're reading this, I'll take you home anytime!!! :)

More Cupcakers

2008-02-23T14:38:00.003+08:00

Elicia Koay
Sinfully Yours

email: lpkoay@pd.jaring.my
Mobile: 012 295 5563

[Recipe] Gluhwein

2008-02-22T12:26:00.004+08:00

Another recipe from our Executive Chef .. also another winter warmer and really really easy to make .. instead of cognac, I have also thrown in other liquors which are normally sweet ...

GLUHWEIN

Ingredients
12 bottle red wine (Beaujolais)
1.2 liter water
0,3 liter cognac
7 pieces whole cinnamon
8 pieces of whole lemon sliced
5 pieces cardamom
4 pieces cloves
300gram sugar

This is a special drink you serve during Christmas in Switzerland and Germany and is available at the ski slopes around those countries, the drink will be served in a cafe latte glass with a small piece of cinnamon and a piece of sliced lemon.

Method
Add all ingredients in a suitable pot and heat up the wine. Simmer for 5 mins. and switch off the heat. Then cover the pot with a lid and keep it aside for 30 mins. DO NOT remove the lid.

Once the 30 min.are over, remove the lid and heat up the wine, till you reach nearly the boiling point before it becomes to boil strain it through a strainer.

To serve:Add one thin slice of lemon and 1-2 pieces of cinnamon stick into the glass and pour the wine over, serve it immediately.

[Recipe] Egg Nog

2008-02-22T12:15:00.003+08:00

I don't normally add recipes but this is from our Executive Chef and it's really really yummy ...
it's his personal recipe ...

Egg-Nog Recipe

Ingredients
3 egg yolk
18.5 gram fine sugar
1 pinch of salt
0, 25 liter liquid cream
0, 75 liter cold milk
0.5 dl sherry cream (use Harvey's Bristol sherry cream) or "Baileys cream" as an option
3 egg white

Garnish:Cinnamon powder, fine chopped nuts (hazelnuts, pecan nuts, walnuts), and a pinch of nutmeg

Method:
Add the egg-yolk to a mixing bowl and whisk till white in color, add in 12, 5 gram of the sugar slowly step by step (keep the rest of the sugar for later) and whisk again.

Once combined well, add the milk, cream, and salt and place it in a suitable whisking bowl and whisk it above a hot Bain Marie till it will be creamy. Then remove it and cool it down.

In the meantime, whisk the egg white till firm then add slowly the remaining sugar, eventually add the egg white mix to the cooled mix and combine slowly (with a wooden spoon) or a rubber spatula, make sure the egg white is well added under the mix to make it as fluffy as possible. At the end add the sherry cream and adjust seasoning

Serve it in pre-organized cold punch glasses and sprinkle with cinnamon, mixed chopped nuts and a pinch of nutmeg.

Cilantro ceases operations on Dec 29th, 2007

2007-12-14T11:58:00.000+08:00

Received this email yesterday and went into an evening of depression :( Immediately rang SB to inform him about it ...

Cilantro is my all time favourite restaurant and I've experienced many memorable moments there with loved ones; birthdays, anniversaries, celebrations. Guess we'll just have to wait the 18-20 months out ...

So, it's not Sayonara but rather "Ja mata" - till we meet again ...

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear Valued Guest,
I would like to bring to your attention the hotels latest update.

MiCasa, is to undergo an extensive upgrade encompassing all rooms, pool deck and public areas. This will commence from January 2008 and take approximately 18 - 20 months to complete, the end result being a totally revitalized MiCasa pitched at the 5 star luxury All Suite Boutique Hotel Market.

With this in mind, our concern is that due to construction disruption, it will not be viable for our clientele to dine in Cilantro during this period and we wish to advise that Cilantro will cease operations with the last night of guests being able to dine on December 29th 2007.

Please accept our apologies for the inconvenience that this close down may cause, but regretfully, due to the scale of the work, we have no other course of action to take. In the meantime, we take this opportunity to thank you for your regular patron over the years and we will keep you posted on our development from time to time.

Best Regards,

Rajeshwaran Gopal
Chef Sommelier

An absolute FEAST up at Genting!

2007-12-12T10:48:00.002+08:00

Two Michelin chefs cooked for me in the past month! (haha!) I must be one of the luckiest foodies around ..

Chef Anton Mosimann
In early November, I had the priviledge of tasting the culinary talent of 2-Michelin Star Chef Anton Mosimann. His Cuisine Naturalle resulted in a lovely marinated salmon, poached chicken and extremely sinful bread & butter pudding for a very light and very, very satisfying lunch. To top it, we were also served some lovely chocolate truffles made by him.

He's a great PR person too, coming out to meet and chat with patrons. All this has possibly added to his appeal and success. We asked him about himself and he told us that he cooks regularly for Prince Charles and Queen Rania. Apart from having his own restaurant in London, he is also quite the entrepreneuer with and academy which not only offers lessons for up and coming chefs but Culinary Teambuilding activities for organisations! Now that would be a great experiential learning experience! Mosimann also offers a Search and Selection service ..

More info at http://www.mosimann.com/

Service was very good at The Olive, with attentive waiters. As a take home souvenir, we received a bottle of olives from the restaurant, The Olive! (no pun intended, I'm sure :)

Chef Christian Moine
A month later, Chef Christian Moine was at the Olive to offer the Flavour of France. Unlike stodgy cream-smoothered french food normally, his was a very light and tasty twist.

We started lunch with a carrot and cumim foam (which was served in a chinese spoon and had my lunch companion and I looking at each other with the "this is ONE course???" look!) with grated carrots on top.

Second course was a lovely fish with Mediterranean vegetables. Third course was a chicken roulade in a very light cream sauce, accompanied with oven baked cheese covered potatoes. (Initally we had to choose between the fish OR chicken, but the waiter informed us that the chef changed his mind and now included BOTH as an offering).

I really can't remember what dessert was (which means it didn't make a huge impact on me!).

Unlike Chef Anton, Chef Christian was one of those Chefs who stayed in the kitchen the whole time and didn't come out or anything even if we were the only patrons on the restaurant at that time. I think I liked Chef Anton's approach - it makes him more accessible and it's stuff that celebrity chefs are made out out.

Anyway, I had a lovely time eating my way through The Olive, located at the Lobby level of Genting Hotel. Genting is sure becoming a place not just for gamblers and children but for the foodies as well ...

Cupcake Cafe!

2007-12-12T10:34:00.001+08:00

Is there such a word as "cupcakery"?
Well, turns out Malaysia's first cupcakery cafe - Cupcake Chic - will be opening at the Curve soon. A little booth has already been set up at the Concourse area for "cupcakeholics" to try their yummy cupcakes, including lavender cupcakes with baileys frosting, marshmallow chocolate mud cupcake and pistachio cupcake with rosewater frosting. The last one sound absolutely exotic!

So, now my visits to the Curve will include Big Apple AND Cupcake Chic .. (before heading to Fitness First or after? ) :)

Check them out at:
www.cupcakechic.com.my

[Article] Shhh … roving restaurant gets tongues wagging

2007-09-04T23:12:00.001+08:00

Read this on my last day in Melbourne. Perhaps I will need to place my name on the list in time for my next trip!

Shhh … roving restaurant gets tongues wagging
The Age newspaper, Melbourne
Larissa Dubecki
September 3, 2007

MELBOURNE'S hottest restaurant isn't in The Age Good Food Guide, it changes location weekly, and with a waiting list of 4000, it's booked out for the next year.

Zingara Cucina — Italian for "Gypsy Kitchen" — is Australia's first "underground" restaurant. It is unlicensed, illegal and transient, but has won the kind of word-of-mouth accolades most legitimate establishments only dream about.

And with the identity of the people behind it a secret, it's also the city's biggest culinary mystery.

It began almost three years ago when dinner parties held for friends by the operator and chef developed a cult following. Now, Zingara has developed into a weekly dining experience, roaming inner-city locations from car parks to lanes, rooftops, bridges, beaches and galleries.
The chef will not reveal his identity except to say he is not a professional, was taught to cook by his Italian grandmother and mother, and works in an advertising agency during the day. He says that "fine dining has become boring".

"The whole concept is around conviviality and creating that feeling you get when you have a nice meal with like-minded people. It's not about making money, but about enjoying good food and good wine," he says.

Entry is by invitation only — each guest gets two referrals to pass on to friends — and diners are told the location via email or SMS the night before.

A diner who has experienced Zingara Cucina — he asked to remain anonymous, although he will reveal he is a chef at a well-regarded CBD restaurant — described the experience as "phenomenal".

"I'd go once a week if I could, to be frank, because it's an incredible experience … the presentation, the food, which was as good as any two or three-chef's-hat restaurant in Melbourne."

At this particular dinner, held several months ago in an obscure city lane, guests were fed rustic Italian fare including handmade ravioli in sage butter with crushed pinenuts, and whole suckling pig — "all really simple flavours that were extrapolated in a beautiful way" — and serenaded between courses by an opera singer.

The diner estimates the meal would have cost $150 in any other restaurant, although Zingara diners are asked to pay what they see fit.

Melbourne Day Three - 26.08.07

2007-08-26T22:16:00.001+08:00

It was BEAUTIFUL bright sunny day so decided to head out to the StKilda Esplanade Arts and Craft market. R and the kids came to pick me up and we headed to One Fitzroy for breakfast. I promptly demolised the Big Breakfast (2 poached eggs, mushrooms, bacon and spinach) while R had the Eggs Florentine and the girls had the loveliest and fluffiest pancakes I've seen! Service was great as the staff was very friendly and attentive.

After breakfast we took a nice long walk looking at stuff at the stalls - I managed to slip in a few purchases - and then we headed to Acland Street for something to munch. Had a nice spinach slice thingamajig outside the Gloria Jean's walkway. Then we walked down the other side of Acland Street and I feasted my eyes on the lovely cakes and confectionaries from Monarch Cakes, Le Bon, etc. It brought back lovely memories as one of my schoolmates used to work in one of the bakeries and I remember her bringing a lovely fruit tart for my birthday. I bought a mini Kugelhopf and cheesecake from Monarch Cakes.

After a lovely day out in the sun, went home and managed to enjoy a gin and tonic before heading out to LiLi's for Chinese Imperial Court Cuisine with family and old friends. Lili's only serve banquets so patrons choose from 3 menus priced at $48, $66 or $138 per pax. We chose the $66 set and got a whole lot of appetizers and other dishes which included fish, venison, Peking duck, pork, prawns and scallops. I wouldn't say the food was like WOW and amazing, but the preparation was very unlike any chinese cuisine I've had before. The place is worth a visit for something different.

The visit to Lili's was made even more interesting when we found out that the police was outside and when we tried to leave they asked us to go back into the restaurant and wait for a while. From the windows, we saw 4 SWAT-team dressed policemen with guns staking out the place in front. It was really unreal, like one of those Role-Playing games that CK always plays. Anyway, after a while, we went out and saw no one around so we left.

We're off to the Yarra Valley tomorrow .. keep tuned ..

Melbourne Day Two - 25.08.07

2007-08-26T22:06:00.002+08:00

Day Two was pretty much a low-key day as I recovered from my lack of sleep and adventure of Day One. It was also a family affair, visiting my uncle's nephew's place to celebrate their baby's 1st birthday. There was some great home cooked food with lovely salads and meats though I was half expecting (and hoping) for some Vietnamese food (as nephew R married a Vietnamese lady). Pity ...

Dinner was at the pub round the corner, the Grosvenor Pub. It's gone very upmarket from the seedy place I remember passing by everyday on my way to school. Aunt D and I shared a delicious Seafood Pizza. I'm not a huge fan of pizza but this one was really nice with the freshest prawns and calamari with lots of garlic and pesto. For vegetable intake, we had the roasted vegetables.

Headed off to Crown Casino late at night. The place is crazy and quite confusing, with no numbers on the car park columns. After one round on the tables, we got thirsty so headed down to Zampeli's Cafe Greco. I like sitting out there and waiting for the hourly 'fireballs'. The cakes there are also visually very enticing as they are like giant-sized versions of old favourites. I've been eyeing the Sticky Date Pudding (one of my favourite winter desserts) and seeing that winter is just about over Down Under, I ordered one with a Iced Coffee to accompany it. Very yummy but very filling.

Don't think my stomach has been so filled in a very very long time

Melbourne Day 1 - 24.8.07

2007-08-26T21:53:00.001+08:00

Arrived in the wee hours of the morning. Didn't have to wait as the driver was there the moment I came out of Customs.

First meal was an EXCELLENT home-cooked Big Breakfast at Aunt D's place. We had lovely bacon and eggs, accompanied by tomatoes and whole grain bread. To top it off, there was also a lovely BerrySweet Pure Bluberry juice and Italian coffee.

Padded around for a while and then headed off to Chadstone for some shopping. Had a lovely roast pork and apple sandwich. The pork was so moist and tender. We were eyeing the crackling and I boldly asked the lady whether we could have some (to contrast the crunchy crackle with the moist tender meat) and she gave us a whole lot. Lovely...

Dinner was SPECTACULAR! My 2 favourite brothers, CK and CF took me to a really nice swanky Japanese restaurant Shoya at Market Lane (next to Flower Drum Restaurant and opposite German restaurant HB) for nouvelle wafu cuisine. We had the $120 11-course set which was fantastic. From the Unitama (sea urchin) to dessert 11 courses later, it was the a culinay adventure which tantalised and delighted the tastebuds with the creative and innovate concoctions and freshness.

I was a very contented Nekochan at the end of the evening ...

(Photos coming ...)

Dessert @ The Loaf

2007-08-14T19:12:00.001+08:00

I was recently in Langkawi and organised a dinner at Tun Mahathir's cafe, The Loaf. Chef Chandran and his team were most accomodating to my group's request and as a Dessert Lover, I asked him to do something special for dessert.

This is what his Japanese Chef came up with ...

A platter of desserts which not just tantalised the tastebuds but was also visually a joy to look at. That's so Japanese; where the art of eating is not just about how good the food tastes, but also how it pleases the eyes.

I'm happy to hear that a branch of the The Loaf will be opening at the new KL Pavillion soon.

Till then, you'll need to visit them in Langkawi ..

The Loaf

Lot No 9C, Perdana Quay

Telaga Harbour Park

Pantai Kok

07000 Langkawi.

Tel: 04 9594866

Website: http://www.theloaflangkawi.com/

Cupcakes!

2007-08-10T19:16:00.001+08:00

In 2006, I announced to my then colleauges that the future is in cupcakes! Some pooh-pahed me but I still stuck to my guns.

And seriously, cupcakes are taking the world by storm (ok, maybe not so 'drama' but they are taking the Klang Valley by storm)

Why cupcakes?
Well, they're small enough to finish by yourself
You don't have to decide who gets the middle/end, bottom/top, icing part/non-icing part, etc
They're full of flavour
They're CUTE as hell :)

Apart from cupcakes, I also have my eyes on cookies - large cookies with icing on the top. Ordered some from Su the other day as a Thank You token for some colleagues. They absolutely loved it! Thanks Su!

For the record ..some cupcakes suppliers in town ..

Su
Website: http://www.ribbonsandcakes.blogspot.com/

From NST, Friday 10 August 2007
Sheila 017 8843230 - orders 3 days in advance for up to 50 cupcakes. Self Pick Up
Bisou Cafe, Asian Heritage Row Tel: 03 2697013
Wondermilk - http://cuppacakes.blogspot.com/

Enjoy!! And remember - the future is in CUPCAKES!!! You heard it here first :)

"Meow"

Easter and Chocolate

2007-03-30T17:56:00.000+08:00

I had my first Cadbury Chocolate Creme Egg today!
I saw the Baby Creme ones at BSC few weeks ago but thought parting with over RM30 for such tiny ones were a bit too much. If they had the normal sized ones I wouldn't have minded. Anyway, when I colleague told me she was going to London for last weekend I jumped at the opportunity and asked her to get me some proper Creme Eggs. She dropped off 8 large creme eggs and a box of the mini ones on my table today!
Yahoo!

I can't remember when the last time I had one .. maybe when I was still living in Australia. But i love them. Why? Because you bite through the chocolate shell and then this white/yellow "yolk" oozes out, just like a real egg! Ok, it's really sweet but I figured that Easter comes like once a year so it's ok,..

I remember when I was back in High School and in my first Easter there, some of my classmates bought me chocolate easter eggs .. one guy even got me a 2kg one! It was huge (but alas, hollow ..). In Australia, I used to enjoy the array of chocolate eggs they had .. some were absolutely gorgeous and you could have them personalised with the recipient's name (very romantic!) and some were based on your favourite chocolate bar - Picnic, Kit Kat, Twix (that was my favourite all through Uni - a Twix a day! My friend Peter once bought me a whole bag (at least 50 bars!) for my birthday) and some of the big ones had baby ones inside too!

I guess I sort of grew out of chocolate after I left Melbourne. Not sure why but I think the last Death by Chocolate Party threw there could have threw me off! Imagine a chocolate party where every dish had chocolate in , including Nutella sandwiches. No savouries at all! I think my friends and I kinda decided to 'surrender' after that ...

Now that I'm back in KL ... I'm slowly picking it up again. Started last year when I started exercising with a personal trainer .. after the training, my body would crave for something sweet. So, a little piece every other day ....

Was in Langkawi earlier this month and got a whole lot of Hershey's Kisses in milk chocolate, dark chocolate and almond nuts. I love the dark chocolate ones, and the fact that it was wrapped in purple foil was a big pull factor! Anyway, I mixed the 3 packets up and got one of my colleagues to distribute to everyone else.

Countdown begins .. 7 Creme Eggs left .....

Gourmet Restaurant @ Tropicana GCR

2007-02-14T10:36:00.000+08:00

Gourmandines.com is proud to present you a new comer in the gourmet world in PJ !
Cuisine Studio is a restaurant, gourmet shop and Leisure Cooking School for “The French Culinary School In Asia”.

Finally there will be a place to go to in PJ for gourmet food! Wonder what the menu is like?

Cuisine Studio,
Club House, New Wing “The Palm”,
Tropicana Golf & Country Resort,
Tel: 03 7805 3088 - Fax: 03 7805 3188
http://www.cuisine-studio.net/

Yamming it at Ulu Yam

2007-02-13T18:26:00.000+08:00

Ok, it's a bit 'ulu' but there's no Yam there .. reminds me of a time a friend moved to a place in Australia named Kangaroo Flat and he wrote back to say that the place didn't have any kangaroo and neither was it flat.

On the way down from Genting, we decided to drive back to KL via Batang Kali, Ulu Yam and Rawang .. stopped by Ulu Yam for their famous noodles and also had some really yummy Sang Har Mee with very fresh prawns. Also had very smooth fish cake to accompany the meal. The freshly squeezed Sarawak pineapple juice was perfect! Enjoy the pics

THE ART OF CHARCUTERIE Professional Certificate Course

2006-09-16T21:17:00.001+08:00

presents

"THE ART OF CHARCUTERIE"

PROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATE

WITH FRENCH MASTER CHEF

PIERRE BERECOETCHEA

Professional Chefs - Click here to know more Enthusiastic Chefs - Click here to know more

Call us at 03 2078 7969 for more information

Charcuterie dates back to ancient times when meat preservation was a necessity. Today it remains an immensely popular food because of its great taste, convenience and versatility.

The making of sausages, salamis, pâté, terrines and smoked meats is no secret to the farmer’s wife but in city restaurants and delicatessens today, charcuterie is a lost art – much of what we consume today is factory-made and worse – frozen. With consumers demanding higher quality products, the need to reclaim this lost method of cooking is more crucial now than ever.

The French Culinary School In Asia is glad to be able to bring Master Chef Charcutier Pierre Berecoetchea, a veteran French charcutier with over 40 years of experience in both the traditional and commercial production of charcuterie products for a series of workshops covering major aspects of the skills needed to make your own sausages, pates and cured and smoked meats, whether at home or on a commercial basis.

His training will be on the making of Sausages and Salamis (2 days), Pâté and Terrines (2 days) and Cured and Smoked Meats (2 days).

This is another quality and unique workshop by The French Culinary School in Asia that is not to be missed!
Call us at 03 2078 7969 for more information

Learn Cake Decorating

2006-09-10T16:48:00.001+08:00

Was just reading in the newspaper today about Rosalind Chan finally setting up a cake decorating school here in PJ! Yeah!!

For more information about classes, do visit her website
http://www.2decoratecakes.com/index.htm

Pizza Masterclass!

2006-09-10T16:40:00.001+08:00

Presents

"Pizza"

Saturday 16 September 2006

Learn to make pizza with a twist (and lot's of flips) with Chef Jean Michel this weekend!

Four Season Pizza
Pumpkin Pizza
Salted Fish & Mashed Potato Pizza
Anchovy & Onion Thick-crust Pizza
Pine nuts, Sun-dried Tomato & Pesto Pizza
Banana & Chocolate Pizza
3-Cheese Pizza
Join Chef Jean Michel today !

This session is from 10am to 2pm and is priced at RM250 per person.

Do visit http://www.gourmandines.com/for more info on the range of products that we are using, promotions, classes and events!

Venue of the class:
The French Culinary School In Asia - HTC In Asia Sdn Bhd.
Level 8 Annexed Block – Menara IMC,
(next to Concorde Hotel, pls take carpark lift to 8th floor)
No. 8, Jalan Sultan Ismail,
50250 Kuala Lumpur – Malaysia
Tel: 03 2078 7969 – Fax: 03 2026 4188
E-mail: french_culinary_school@htcinasia.com

Happy Merdeka Day!

2006-08-31T02:53:00.000+08:00

Dear readers
Selamat Menyambut Hari Merdeka! (Happy Merdeka Day)
First you start the day off with a typical Malaysian breakfast of kaya on toast (photo from Old Town Kopitiam) then you move on to the chocolate cake frome IKEA!

What will you be having this August 31st?

One Noodle

2006-08-31T02:27:00.001+08:00

Some colleagues and I have been going to one of the latest Shanghainese-style restaurants in SS2. We were just discussing the other day that before it was the Hong Kong Char Chan Tengs, now it's Shanghainese cuisines with numerous siaw loong paus for us to try ...

Anyway, the food at One Noodle at SS2 is not too bad, pretty decent in terms of pricing and ambiance. Tried their tom yum noodles which was packed with lots of seafood (approx RM14), KS had the duck noodles (which looked really boring in comparison with the tom yum!) and we also tried their fried dumplings. I ordered a drink that came with pieces of lotus root which I thought was a nice touch ..

One Noodle
Same block as KFC,
SS2, Petaling Jaya
Selangor

San Francisco Steakhouse - NO GO!

2006-08-30T17:07:00.000+08:00

Today my colleagues and I (all 20 of us) went to the San Fran Steakhouse at Damansara Intan to celebrate a colleague's birthday. As there were so many of us, one of my colleagues took the liberty of pre-booking our lunch (which was from the set menu - Wed is either chicken pasta or lamb) so that we wouldn't have to wait too long when we got there. At the same time, we were advised that they will also arrange the drinks for all, which would be cheaper than if we ordered drinks individually.

The set lunch there sounds reasonable at RM13.90++ per head for main course and 2 out of 3 of salad, soup and/or dessert. Ok, so there were 20 of us in one long table and definitely we would ask the waiter what the soup of the days was, what was for dessert, etc. However, the waiter seemed very very annoyed that we kept asking him the same questions as he took our orders and by the time he got to my end of the table his annoyance was really showing through. He rolled his eyes when asked what the soup of the day was and snarled out "Tomato". I initially ordered the salad and dessert combination but then when he mentioned that the dessert was ice cream, I asked him to changed my combination to soup and salad. He proceeded to give me dirty look for that!

I guess that was a prelude of things to come.

Drinks were served in little tiny 'wine' style glasses - a fruit punch I suspect which wasn't too bad if there wasn't so much ice.
Tomato soup was bland - a result of over diluting of the concentrate probably and lukewarm in temperature.
Oh .. the rolls were pretty nice, served piping hot.
Salad was pretty non descript, some lettuce leaves thrown together with a piece of tomato, cucumber and purple cabbage for some colour.

We waited at least 40 minutes for the main courses to arrive, even after pre-booking. The lamb was so tough that my hand ache after cutting it. The rosemary rice that accompanied it was bland and tastless (though it didn't smell too bad) and the vegetables that came with it was quite wilted and dead though that probably had the most flavour of all.

For my poor colleagues who opted for the Chicken pasta, what they ended up getting was a small plate of fettucini carbonara which was completely tastless and bland and slices of the driest looking chicken I've seen in the longest time.

As for dessert, which I'm glad I didn't order, it was a scoop of vanilla ice cream with mint sauce. One colleague remarked that the mint sauce should have accompanied the lamb earlier, not as dessert. I took a peek and saw that they used mint sauce which would normally accompany lamb, as in, there were bits and pieces of dried mint leaves in them.

To top it all of, when we were presented with the bill, we found out that the drinks cost us RM50 per jar (same size as the beer jug) and that we had consumed 7 jugs! So, inclusive of tax, that meant that we consumed about RM280 worth of food and RM350 worth of fruit punch and I don’t think we even consumed the equivalent of one full normal sized glass either! We were a bit taken aback because earlier we were informed that ordering the drinks by the jug would cost us much less than ordering a la carte. Turns out, if we had ordered our drinks separately, it would have only set us back RM10-12 per head, and not around RM17! What a rip off!!

So, if you're in the market for lousy service, tasteless food and in the mood to get rip off, head to San Francisco Steakhouse now!

Travelling Far and Wide ...

2006-08-20T00:17:00.000+08:00

I remember the times when we used to travel to Port Klang just for seafood, to Seremban for a breakfast of beef noodles, to Bidor for duck noodles and to Ipoh for my favourite creme caramel. While I don't think it's crazy travelling great distances in search of food, I think many foreigners would think we were mad!

My recent trip to Thailand saw me taking a 4 hour journey north of Bangkok for tamarind and oranges and 4 hours south to Bang Sean for a seafood dinner. I also remember the times when I was working in Bangkok and L and I would plan to go to Chonburi for dinner after work. Chonburi is near Pattaya and would take us a solid 80-90 minutes of driving each way but we'd make our way through the Bangkok jam (I'd try to sneak out of office early), get on the Expressway and speed along, planning on what to order. Thinking back, it was absolutely madness, as these were working nights (like school nights!) and all in all, it would be around 3 hours of driving.

During my last trip, on the Friday we were there, G had a field trip to Chonburi Province so she said to us, "Why don't you take the bus and meet me at Bang Saen for a seafood dinner? It will only take about max 90 minutes." Sure, I thought, why not?

So we timed ourselves, got to Ekkamai Bus Station at around 4pm and looked for a counter that read Sri Racha / Bang Saen. Found the counter, no problem. Paid only around RM7 for the ticket and the bus was leaving in 15 minutes.

We get on the bus, realise that we are the only 2 passengers. Wow! Bus leaves and I'm getting all excited .. then it stops at another bus terminal ... funny, I thought to myself, isn't think supposed to be a direct bus? G calls on the mobile and I ask her and she says, well sometimes with less passengers they may stop to pick up more. OK.

Later, I realise that the bus ISN'T getting on the Expressway but rather, we were taking the normal roads UNDERNEATH the Expressway and that the bus was stopping at ALL the bus stops along the way! Spoke to G again and she was like .. argh, sometimes the bus with few passengers do this in order to get more $$. You see, the $$ I paid goes to the bus company, but the $$ they collect from all the other passengers goes into the driver's pocket.

Thus, we resigned ourselves to the ALL STOPS bus to Bang Saen ..in the light drizzle and all. Nearly 4 hours later (3 hours later than we thought!) we finally arrive at Bang Saen. Poor G is starving and dying from hunger, poor dear. We go to this Seafood place for dinner (we've never been before) and the food wasn't very great and there was very poor lighting, so the pics I took of the food didn't come out very well.

Anyway, after dinner, we stop at this stretch of shops which I love visiting for they sell all kinds of tid-bits. Unfortunately, many were close but we still managed to get some really yummy and freshly roasted cashew nuts, sotong bakar, durian chips and G also got us this sticky rice thing cooked in a bamboo (looks like our lemang but it's cooked with some beans and coconut so it's dessert-like). Took some pics while I was there. The stickey-rice-in-bamboo (Before and After) and pics of some raw small crabs a lady was selling ...

Little Pleasures at Chocoholic, Bangkok

2006-08-13T00:39:00.000+08:00

A new cafe has opened at the Siam Centre and aptly named Chocoholic. With a name like that, I definitely had to stop to have a look at the menu and at their dessert offerings. Mainly miniature cakes and delicious looking cupcakes.

I couldn't decide what to have so we finally settled for a Lemon Meringue Cupcake and the Red Velvet Cupcake.

The Lemon Meringue one was excellent, with a lemon sponge with lemon syrup in it which was zesty but not too sour which offset the sweet meringue on the top beautifully.

The Red Velvet was also very moist and delicious. Actually, it's a plain vanilla cupcake with red colouring and topped with toffee icing.

A great place to rest our weary feet after walking ..and walking ...and walking ...

Chocoholic
Siam Centre
Bangkok

Thai Cooking Lesson

2006-08-13T00:21:00.001+08:00

The best meals are often the simplest meals and I love plain grilled seafood with various Thai dipping sauces.

The morning I was scheduled to arrive in Bangkok, L & G went to the fresh market in the morning and bought some fish, squid, crayfish and prawns for grilling. So, the moment we arrived in Petchaboon, G set us to work, chopping, mincing, etc. I expected this so I bought along my trusty video camera to video this "cooking lesson". G did a great job as hostess, introducing the various Thai herbs and spices that they used and there's some footage of me pounding away using the traditional mortar and pestle and G giving instructions, "not fine enough, pound more!"

I pounded away at leaves and stalks and roots for what seemed like forever. The final concoctions would end up as dipping sauces as well as stuffing for the fish.

A grill was later prepared and we grilled the fish, prawns, crayfish and my all-time favourite pla meuk (squid). Below are photos of our feast (including some of the Thai home-cooked food that L's family prepared .. pork and veged and deep-fried pork skin with dried pork meat...

Mouth Watering Desserts at the Old Siam

2006-08-12T23:10:00.001+08:00

One of my all-time favourite places in Bangkok has to be the Old Siam. I can't remember if someone introduced me to the place or if I stumbled upon it myself during one of my many sojourns to the City of Angels.

The main attraction at the Old Siam, for me anyway, is the Food Hall. Here, they make, on the spot, all kind of Thai desserts and snacks. One can watch how all the food is being made and then purchase them.

What I normally do is purchase the stuff I like, which includes mieng kam (already wrapped!), other nibbles which I don't know the names of (but I certainly know the taste of!) and take it all upstairs to the Food Court. There, I normally order the oyster omelette, some som tum (papaya salad) and cha yaan (Thai iced tea) and Im ready to enjoy a great meal!

After my meal, I'd go down to the Food Hall again and there's a stall at the end that sells durian with glutinous rice and other very, very delicious (and extrememly sinful, with all that fatterning coconut milk!) desserts. There are some benches nearby so you can order and devour the desserts on the spot!

After feasting, you can feast your eyes with some window shopping. Many stalls selling Thai silk (around Bt350 per metre, very good price) and there's an electronics place upstairs. If you're getting married, you can make your invitation cards there and there's also a shop selling all the stuff for a Siamese themed wedding.

The Old Siam is definitely NOT a place to miss out if you visit Bangkok.

The Old Siam Shopping Center
Burapa Road
Pharurat / Chinatown area

Tantalizing my Tastebuds in Thailand

2006-08-09T23:05:00.000+08:00

I LOVE going to Thailand, not just for the food, but for the shopping, the spas and of course, visiting good friends.

This time, seeing we planned the trip quite a while back, and I went for a week, we managed to make bigger plans. The moment the plane touched down at Don Muang, we were swept off our feet and piled into a huge van which continued it's journey north on Lam's hometown of Petchaboon. Petchaboon is known for tamarind and Thai oranges and we were going to spend the night at my friend's family home.

First Thai meal was duck noodles and pork knuckle and Thai sausages and roast pork. It was at a small stall / shack in one of the towns we passed through on the way. It was a great way to start the trip!

Enjoy the pics...

In the News!

2006-08-07T15:26:00.001+08:00

I was waiting to catch my flight to Bangkok last Saturday, 29th July 2006 (for my Tantalizing Tastes of Thailand Makan trip! :) and what do you know, my Air Asia flight was re-timed to an hour later.

With an additional one hour to kill, we got the Star newspaper and in the Lifestyle Section there was an article by Deepak Gill on Malaysian food entitled "Fight for your Food". Interesting, I thought ... and as I read on there was a list of food blogs for readers to browse. Imagine my great surprise to see FoodSafari being listed too! As I was picking at the nasi lemak served at LCCT, I squealed with delight when I saw it, there, in print!

Guess I feel a littie pressured now to update my blog regularly .. still have the Bebek in Bali to update and now my Tantalizing Tastes of Thailand ... coming soon ..

Anyone, if you want to view the article from the Star, click HERE

New Italian joint in Bangsar!

2006-07-07T14:54:00.000+08:00

Opening on 15th July 2006!

LUNCH @ CIPOLLA!

SET A – RM20++
APPETIZERS FROM THE BUFFET + 1 SOFT DRINK / ICE LEMON TEA

SET B – 3 COURSES @RM30++
(Including 1 soft drink or bottled juice)

1st APPETIZERS FROM THE BUFFET

2nd CHOICE OF PASTA OR PIZZA

Make your own combination

Pasta & Sauce
Spaghetti Carbonara (beef bacon, egg yolk, parmesan & cream)
Rigatoni Bolognese (minced beef sauce)
Linguine Pesto (basil sauce)
Penne Tomato & basil
Fettuccine Cream & mushroom
Fusilli Mixed seafood & tomato
Orecchiette Vongole (garlic & clams)

Pizza
Margherita (Tomato & cheese)
Napoletana (Tomato, cheese, capers & anchovies)
Vegetariana (Tomato, cheese & vegetables)
Tonno (Tomato, cheese, tuna & onion)
Capricciosa (Tomato, cheese, olives, artichokes & turkey ham)

3rd CHOICE OF DESSERT
Tiramisu – Cassata - Panna Cotta
Espresso – Coffee – Tea

The Pride of India

2006-06-21T11:49:00.001+08:00

The Kucings group was looking for a place to have a meal on Sunday evening and JPH suggested Pride of India at Desa Sri Hartamas. At first glance, the place looks posh and expensive and empty (!!) and it was already 7:30pm when we got there. Anyway, we decided to go in.

As it was Father's Day, there was a set dinner going for RM39.90nett per pax butwe decided to go a la carte.

The cuisine is predominantly Northern Indian which means it's all nice and rich, my favourite type of Indian food.

We ordered:
Chicken Vindaloo -a Goanese stype dish cooked in viegar and whole spices - this was qutie yummy and I enjoyed it. The chicken was very tender
Fish Tikka Masala - a hot spicky king's favourable dish, the chef's creation - which was not too bad but there wasn't much fish in it and I thought the fish was rather mushy.
Aloo Gobi - potato and cauliflower - which was good
Bhindi tamatar Curry - Ladies fingers with onions and tomatoes - this was delicious.
Chicken Tandoori - this was REALLY nice and tender unlike the ones you get at the mamak stalls

All this was accompanied by a selection of plain Briyani rice (I liked this because the fragrance was just perfect and they also put in shredded carrots and celery) and various type of naan (plain, garlic and sesame seed)

For dessert we shared some Kulfi (indian ice cream). I love kulfi but this one had a mango in it which I thought detracted from the original kulfi taste ..

The damage? RM125 for the five of us ...

Opening Hours:
Everyday 11:30-3:00pm, 6:00-9:00pm

Pride of India
7G, Jalan 22A/70A, Wisma CKL
Desa Sri Hartamas
50480 Kuala Lumpur
(this is the row behind Maybank, same row as Karma)
Tel: 03 62014477 or 019 6903266
Fax: 03 62044478
e-mail: prideofindiakl@yahoo.com
Website: http://www.prideofindia.com.my

Pancakes on Shrove Tuesday

2006-06-07T16:41:00.000+08:00

Twas the Tuesday before the start of Lent and CM invited SA and I for pancakes, I was wondering about the significance of pancakes and was enligtened about Shrove Tuesday through the Wikipedia on it and via the BBC website.

So, where else can one go to for good pancakes in Kuala Lumpur? Paddington's Pancakes of course! We trotted off to the branch in Hartamas Shopping Centre and had a pancake feast that included pancake burger, pancake lasagna and mini pancakes for dessert!

Coffee Break in Bangkok

2006-06-07T15:06:00.000+08:00

When one is in Bangkok, there is no need to step into a Starbuck's for one's coffee needs. There are many local chains around which serve really great coffee and also helps the local community as they use local coffee beans.

Apart from Black Canyon which you can find everywhere and which serves a really delicious alcoholic coffee concoction that includes Kahlua, there also Doi Tung, result of the Thai princess' royal projects.

At Doi Tung, the coffee hails from the northern part of Thailand and served in really nice ceramic wares. The arabica coffee is sourced through the Doi Tung Development Project of the Mae Fah Luang Foundation.

About the coffee at Doi Tung
Arabica Coffee trees introduced under the Doi Tung Development Project Crop Substitution Programme are planted at altitudes of over 1,000 feet above sea level. The plants bear premium grade coffee beans needed for the production of high quality, aromatic coffee. The harvested coffee beans are processed and sun-dried, carefully graded, roasted and sold under the ‘Doi Tung’ label.

To read more about the Project, visit www.doitung.org.

There are not that many Doi Tung coffee shops around, one being in Suan Lum Night Bazaar and the other at IMPACT.

Anyway, G and I visited an exhibition at IMPACT when we felt that we needed some coffee and biscuits so we popped by Doi Tung for our coffee break!

Friends and Food in Bangkok

2006-06-07T11:51:00.000+08:00

I guess one of the reasons that I love Bangkok and why I go there so often is because of my good friends, G and L. I think it's great that our friendship has lasted so long, since meeting each other in the Land of the Rising Sun back in 1997. Since then, G has gone on to receive her doctorate, so it's Dr G now and L has gotten married and now daddy to one really sweet little girl.

Still, whenever I'm in Bangkok or they're here in KL, we always meet up and partake in the sharing of food while catching up on what's been happening in each other's lives.

February was no exception. But L was so busy that we only got to meet once, all of us. It was near IMPACT and it was a restaurant, when translated into English, means Golden Cockerel. We ordered lots of seafood including my favourite goong woon sen (prawns with vermicelli in hot pot), steamed fish, deep fried prawn salad, veges, squid and so much more I can't remember, except being extremely full at the end of the evening.

Around Bangkok with Col

2006-06-07T10:39:00.002+08:00

Met up with Col for lunch while I was in the City of Angels. It's great meeting up with him when I'm there because he always takes me to eat in places I woudn't know about. This time it was in a small cafe on Suhumvit. Unfortunately I can't really remember the name (this is what happens when one tries to blog about something that happened months ago!)

Anyway, between us we ordered a crab fried rice and an ulam type dish but Thai style as well as fried Shanghai noodles. I really like Shanghai noodles but pity that I've never seen them in KL. It's like glass noodles except flat and square, kinda like kuey teow except made from pea flour. The first time I had it was during one of my earlier visits to Bangkok and I do know that you can get them at the supermarket (dried ones) and cook them at home.

I also had a nice refreshing lemongrass drink to quench my thirst (from all the walking) and I thought it was quite cute with the "flower" made out of carrot!

CHERUBIN
After lunch, we had dessert at Cherubin. Cherubin is a cake and coffee and CHOCOLATE place which is really nice and comfortable. The cakes were really yummy and unfortunately I was too engrossed in the eating to take any photos! But I did take a photo of one of the cute teddy bears which keep diners company!

Cherubin - Death by chocolate
Sukhumvit Soi 31 - Bangkok
Tel: (02) 260 9800

Bangkok in Feb - Day 1

2006-06-07T09:51:00.001+08:00

I've been really slack with updating the blog, but I've finally settled down and downloaded the photos so will start updating the past few months eating forays.

The first major makan trip this year was to Bangkok, in February. Got there just before Valentine's Day so apart from feasting my tummy on yummy Thai food, I also feasted my eyes on beautiful roses everywhere. There was a promotion at Siam Centre whereby they could print messages and photos onto the petals of these HUGE red roses, as big as my palm! I asked where they were from and was informed that they are grown in the northern part of Thailand.

On my first morning in Bangkok, I walked out of the guesthouse onto Silom Road to catch the BTS and there was this long queue stretching from the corner of Saladaeng towards Central on Silom. I remember thinking to myself, "Wow, the Thais are now so disciplined and queing up for the bus." Anyway, as I walked pass them I realised that the queue wasn't for the bus but it kept going pass the bus stop. Curiously, I followed it and you'd never guess what was the "pot of gold" at the end they were queing for - ROTI BOY!!! Yup, true-blue-red-and-white Malaysian home-grown ROTI BOY!
I felt SO proud to be Malaysian - MALAYSIA BOLEH! :)

No, I didn't buy any Roti Boys while I was in Bangkok but enjoyed my other favourite foods instead, especially gai yang (grilled chicken) and papaya pok pok aka som tam (papaya salad), staples of Isan food. Sigh .. if only I could have it everyday ...

Baso Sapi Asli - now in Desa Sri Hartamas

2006-05-22T14:28:00.001+08:00

Note: Sadly, this restaurant has since closed down.

The famous A Fung Basi Sap Asli has opened shop in Desa Sri Hartamas. They've been opened for a few months now but everytime I pass the shop it seems to be empty. Pity.
Anyway, we decided to go there for lunch today.

Between the three of us, we ordered the following:
Baso Sapi Asli (Beefball Soup)
Nasi Beef Teriyaki (Beef Teriyaki Rice)
Baso Tahu (Stuffed Tofu with Beef)

The food here is simple and probably a good place to have simples no frills noodle soups. Prices are pretty ok, not as cheap as your hawker centre but around RM5.90-RM10 for a bowl of noodles. Drinks are pretty steep at around RM4.50 each. Too bad they didn't have Ais Nona and Ais teler when I went

Their Menu
Baso Sapi
Baso Sapi Asli (Beef Ball Soup)
Baso Sapi Urat (Beef Tendon Soup)
Baso Jamur (Mushroom Beef Balls)
Baso Tahu (Stuffed Tofu)
Baso Sapi Asli Komplit (bits of all of the above)

Bakmi Special Mangkok Garing (all served in a crunchy edible shell)
Bakmi Ayam (Chicken Noodle)
Bakmi Ayam Baso Sapi (Chicken Noodle with Beefballs)
Bakmi Ayam Baso Ikan (Chicken Noodle with Fishballs)
Bakmi Ayam Baso Goreng (Chicken Noodle with Friend balls)
Bakmi Ayam Pangsit Goreng (Chicken Noodle with friend dumplings)
Bakmi Seafood (Noodles with Fishballs, Fish wonton, Crabstick, Fish Stuffed Tofu)

Baso Ikan
Baso Ikan Istimewa (Special Fishball Soup)
Baso Ikan Tahu (Fishball with Stuffed Tofu)
Baso Pangsit Ikan (Fishball with Fish Wonton)
Baso Ikan Komplit (bits of all the above)

Paket Nasi (Rice Dishes)
Nasi Beef Teriyaki (Beef Teriyaki Rice)
Nasi Goreng (Fried Rice)
Nasi Uduk (Nasi Lemak Java Style)

Cemilan (Side Items)
Baso Goreng - Fried Balls
Baso Goreng Pedas (Fireball)
Pangsit Goreng Renyah (Fried Dumpling)
Otak Otak (Java Style)

Dessert
Ais Nona, Ais Teler, Pudding Trendy, Buah Cheezy

A Fung - Baso Sapi Asli
2, Jln 27/70A
Desa Sri Hartamas
50480 Kuala Lumpur
tel: 03 23000299
Hours: 11am-11pm

For Catering call: 012 9356608

[Non food] Gadgets to be won!

2006-05-22T10:46:00.002+08:00

Those who know me also know that in addition to food, I also love gadgets. Why? Because gadgets make my life more efficient. For example, I've been using a Palm for the longest time, but not so much for emails or connecting to the Internet, but rather to keep my extensive Address Book, which houses the contacts of restaurants that I have been or would like to go. Using technology means I can actually organise my restaurant list by Cuisine Type, Country, Location, etc which means that it's easy for me to find the contacts when I want them. Of course, the "Free Search" available through the Palm also allows me to do a Search by name or part of name or my favourite dish (to do this you have to add to the Notes of the address record).

Anyway, one of my favourite Gadgets Blog is having a competition and lots of prizes to be won. If you are interested, do click on the link below:

http://www.thegadgetblog.com/2006/05/03/contest-for-thegadgetblog-first-birthday-on-2-june-2006/

Malaysian Fare at Berjaya Times Square

2006-05-17T09:50:00.000+08:00

Berjaya Times Square is a place that houses many mediocre eating joints. And a real maze as well! Anyway, went for the Debenham's sale and decided to eat before walking around. Really, there's not much on offer, once you tick off the normal franchise joints like the Chicken Rice Shop, etc.

Anyway, spotted something I haven't seen before, Restaurant Peng Hwa, which served Malaysian hawker food so thought we'd try it. So, we ordered the Dry Curry Noodles, Soup Chicken Noodles (like Ipoh Sa Hor Fan) and Rojak and for drinks, cincau and chinese tea.

The good thing about this place is that service is real fast. Within 5 minutes, the orders came, like a hawker stall. Unfortunately, it's pretty hit and miss with the accuracy of the orders. They brought soya milk instead of cincau, and dry chicken noodles instead of the soup one. And with D's order of dry curry noodles with NO cockles, it came laden with cockles.

Taste wise, it wasn't too bad but the rojak was probably the best of the lot. Probably wouldn't go back there again unless I'm in a huge hurry!

Dry Curry Noodles RM8.90
Soup Chicken Noodles RM8.90
Rojak RM5.00
Cincau RM3.50
Chinese Tea RM1.00

Restaurant Peng Hwa
Lot 04-90 Berjaya Times Square
Jalan Imbi
Kuala Lumpur

Tel: 03 21414388

Bon Ton moves

2006-05-15T15:08:00.000+08:00

..to a new location at 8 Jalan Conlay, Kuala Lumpur

Bon Ton Restaurant
No. 8 Jalan Conlay
Kuala Lumpur

Tel : 03- 21413848

[#50] Little Sparrow Chinese Restaurant

2006-01-13T16:29:00.000+08:00

Read a review in the Star yesterday about this little Hakka restaurant in TTDI. Anyway, seeing it was near SM's place, I asked her if she wanted to try it out for lunch today. However, she had other lunch plans so I went with another colleage, TL. I'll have to remember how to have lunch with TL next time, for he isn't particularly fond of meat, due to the 'smell'.

Anyway, we went to the Little Sparrow Restaurant in TTDI. Located where Muhibbah used to be, it's the last shop on Lorong Rahim Kajai 14, which is great for parking.

Between the two of us, we had 3 dishes;
- Stewed Pork with Muk Yee (mouse ears, my Por Por used to call them) (RM10)
- Yau Mak vegetables (RM7) and
- Little Sparrow Tow Foo Special (which was one of their specialities which turned out to be like Yong Tow Foo!) (RM10)

Stewed Pork was quite yummy, like how my family cooks it, though a bit on the salty side.

Vegetables were really salty

Tow Foo was huge serving (3 brinjals, 2 chillies, 2 ladies fingers and 2 tofu) which was non-descript.

Drinks (boiled sugar cane water) was really really sweet ..

The good news is the restaurant doesn't charge Service Charge or Taxes so there's no extra 10%+5% .. they also don't accept Credit cards as the food is not expensive.

Anyway, lunch for 2 came up to RM31.80 which wasn't bad.

Little Sparrow Restaurant
62, Lorong Rahim Kajai 14
Taman Tun Dr Ismail
60000 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03 77105227
Close on Tuesdays ..

Eating @ KLPAC - avoid if you can!

2006-01-02T00:48:00.001+08:00

Kuala Lumpur's latest performing arts centre, KLPAC has two restaurants where theatre goers can choose to eat at. One is a swanky looking Japanese place (my friend JL says it's expensive but I can't vouch for anything, not having eaten there myself personally) and the other is Sentidos Tapas (or rather, at this point of time, was as it's called the Curtain Cafe or something like that).

I've eaten at the Curtain Cafe a few time - not a bad place to chill out, overlooking the lake (with the large 'Sentral Park' signage there - must be for branding purposes lah!). I've noticed on their menu that they have some local food (like fried noodles and fried rice) has also crept onto the menu in addition to the swanky teh tarik (pretty good value at RM3 per glass, I thought, though it did taste kinda foul!)

Anyway, recently, DW and I had dinner there before attending a show. We ordered the Flamenco's Liver Pate, I had the Fish and Chips and DW had the Roast Beef Sandwich.

Flamenco's Liver Pate - can't complain about this, taste was there, though I would have prefered a smoother texture. However, accompanying the pate were 5 small pieces of bread (slices of French bread). Of course, we needed to order more, which we did. The waiter was also effective enough to inform us that we would have to pay for the additional serving of bread, which would cost RM5. Well, a bit difficult to eat pate on it's own, so order we did. Anyhow, this is where daylight (or rather dusk-light) robbery started - for RM5 we got only an additional 5 small pieces of toast! At RM1 per piece, that would have been a really expensive loaf of French bread!

Fish & Chips - the Fish wasn't very fresh (you can tell from the soft texture and taste)but the chips were ok (I mean, you can't do much to chips can you?)

Roast Beef Sandwich - the only grouse I had was the fact that they used a Gardenia type bread which really makes it feel like 'jatuh class'. I mean, if they had used some other type of bread - baguette or something, it would have been so much better.

Anyway, there we were, enjoying conversation and our meal, when at around 7:45pm the waiter comes over and asked us if we wanted to order dessert. Now, we were both still eating our mains and we were like... "well, we don't know yet .. we're still eating our mains .."
Waiter: Well, if you're not ordering dessert, can you please pay the bill now?
Us: But we don't know if we are ordering dessert, we haven't finished our mains .. and anyway, it's 7:45pm and we didn't ask for the bill
Waiter: Policy .. you have to pay now ..
Us: What? are you kidding? why do we have to pay now? Show starts at 8:30pm ..it's only 7:45pm now
Waiter: Policy .. the till closes at 8pm.
Us: You mean everyone has to pay up by 8pm?
Waiter: Yes
Us (getting exasperated trying to figure out the logic): Then please come back at 8pm!
Waiter leaves bill on table

7:50pm
Supervisor comes over
Us (still eating): Yes, can we help you?
Supervisor: I heard that there was some problems with the bill?
Us: No, no problem, just that we haven't asked for it yet.
Supervisor: I need you all to pay up now
Us: Why? We are STILL eating ...
Supervisor: Policy ...
Us: What if we want dessert?
Supervisor: We will have another bill for that ..

Anyway, to cut a really long illogical conversation short, we paid the bill, still didn't understand why the till 'closes' at 8pm but very upset with the way it was handled.

Next time we need to go to KLPAC, we'll just stop at one of the 'tai chow' places along Jalan Ipoh, have a good meal, before watching the show.

After the show, the mamak on Jalan Ipoh (you can't miss it after you exit KLPAC and turn left onto Jalan Ipoh, it's the first stall you see about 200m after getting onto Jln Ipoh) serves some pretty good tandoori and other mamak type food.

Oh, and if anyone can give me an explanation on the policy at the Curtain Cafe at KLPAC, I'd be interested in knowing more ...

Curtain Cafe
KL Performing Arts Centre (KLPAC)
Jalan Strachan, off Jalan Ipoh
Sentul
Kuala Lumpur

Web: www.klpac.com

Dessert Buffet I keep missing

2006-01-02T00:43:00.000+08:00

The Equatorial Hotel has a buffet that I really enjoy - the Dessert Buffet where I can enjoy desserts, including Haagen-Daaz ice cream, to my heart's delight. My friends and I used to make this a regular event in our yearly Makan junket calendar. However, for the past 2 years, they have been running the buffet in the month of December.

Now, December, being the festive season what with Deepavali, Hari Raya, Xmas and New Year all 'pau' in one, is not, for me anyway, the best time to go for Dessert Buffets. Why? Because I would already have been enjoying all the sweets from the various festivities.

So, my New Year wish for Equatorial Hotel in Kuala Lumpur is to please have your Dessert Buffet in a 'low season', say around June or mid year time, when more people will be craving for sweets ....

Christmas Day Chocolate Buffet At Cosmo Lounge

2005-12-19T20:10:00.000+08:00

Anyone game for a chocolatey Xmas?

Christmas Day Chocolate Buffet At Cosmo Lounge
25 December,3pm - 6pm

The ever popular chocolate buffet is made available for all you chocolate lovers out there.

RM48 (adults), RM28 (children between ages 3 to 12 years)
Cosmo Lounge
Hilton Kuala Lumpur, 3 Jalan Stesen Sentral, Kuala Lumpur
Tel : 03-2264 2264
Train : KL Sentral (Monorail/Putra/KTM)

Deutsches Gasthaus Christmas Promotion for Dec 24th

2005-12-19T19:44:00.000+08:00

Not sure where to go for Xmas Eve?
Try

Deutsches Gasthaus Christmas Promotion
" Unforgetable 24 Varieties Buffet Dinner"

Date : 24th Dec 2005
Price Per Person : RM 70.00++ ( Children Below 12 RM 35++)

Venue :
1) Deutsches Gasthaus 2
No 24, Lorong Rahim Kajai 14,
Taman Tun DR Ismail

2) Deutsches Gasthaus
No 24,Medan Setia 2,
Plaza Damansara, Bukit Damansara

Time : 7.00pm Onwards
RSVP : Anne Liew - 019 218 9770

The Buffet Menu

Cold Starter
Assorted Cheese Corner
Assorted Ham & Bacon
Mix Green Salad With Dressings
Pickles Vegetables & Gerkins
Turkey Liver Pate
Mussel in White Wine Vinaigrette

Buffet Line Section
Roasted Pork Knuckle
Black Pepper Sliced Beef
Seafood Tempura
Turkey Stuffed with Mushroom & Chestnuts
Vegetables Tempura
Pork Shoulder with Grain Mustard Sauce
Duck Curry
Gratinated Potatoes

Grills Section
Mix House Sausages
Beer Marinated Pork Ribs
Chicken Skewer
Lamb Skewer
Grill Assorted Vegetables

Dessert Corner
Christmas Fruit Cake
Christmas Candies
Dark Chocolate Ganache Cake
Tiramisu
Mix Fruits Platter

For reservations, call Anne Liew - 019 218 9770 NOW!

[#49] Japanese surprises

2005-12-18T23:35:00.000+08:00

Recently, I had dinner with a very old friend, JL, whom I haven't seen for years. As usual, being a Friday night, neither being in the mood to choose where to eat, I just told him, "Surprise me!".
JL asked, with a twinkle in his eyes, "are you sure you want to be surprised?"
"Bring it on!"

And surprised I was!

We went to a Japanese restaurant where JL was obviously a regular. It was one of the Jap restaurants in Desa Sri Hartamas which I somehow never ate at before.

Anyway, we sat at the counter and didn't order, for the Chef played "congker' (i.e dealer) that night and just surprised us one dish after another.

The first dish was probably the biggest surprise because the Chef presented us with FUGU sashi. For the uninitiated, yes, it is the fish you can die from if not prepared properly. Read more about this deadly fish by clicking here

I think we were both VERY surprised and it became a case of "you go first", "no, you go!" Anyway, we both gingerly pick up the very thin translucent slices and dipped it in a vinegary sauce and popped it in. I must say, it is rather bland (sauce was nice) but the texture was different, with a almost crunchy quality about it. I was rather disappointed not to feel the numbness on the lips which is supposed to be a 'value add' from having fugu sashi. But I guess this really had ALL poison removed ... Chef said if there was still poison in it, we would be dead within 7 minutes. Anyway, we survived the 7 minutes and live to enjoy the rest of our meal!

After the fugu sashi, we were served seard ahi tuna topped with foie gras. This was also very yummy, the firmness for the tuna in contrast to the soft texture of the liver, though the taste of the foie gras was a little too subtle. Next was some salmon sushi roll with something inside which I can't remember. I like the contrast of texture of it. After all these and a bowl of soup each, we were both surprisingly quite stuffed.

Anyway, fugu sashi aside, the other dishes there, especially the innovative sushi rolls looked quite interesting with various fusions of local and Japanese ingredients and is definitely worth another visit soon.

Anyway, thank you, JL, for a real surprising dinner, what's next? :)

For Jap surprises and innovate Jap fusion food, do visit

Aoyama The Green Room Japanese Restaurant
10, Jalan 27/70A,
Desa Sri Hartamas
50480 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03 2300 0683
Fax: 03 2300 0515

Location: Same row as Penang Village. Car Park behind Devi's is just opposite.

Reservations recommended.

From George: All about Fishballs!

2005-11-27T23:17:00.000+08:00

Thanks for the contribution, George!
Nekochan
------------------------------

In an age of pre-mixes, instant foods, fast foods, junk foods and unjustifiably hyped-up five-star food, it is tragically poignant to hear from someone with such tremendous insight into the craft of making the best from the freshest of ingredients, that all one can do is weep over the loss of this craft. Many talk about 'making the best from the freshest ingredients'. Few actually know what it means. It is tragic because when the lady goes, the craft goes with her. The work is far too physically demanding for her children to want to continue. Poignant because at this late stage of her life, the enthusiasm for producing an excellent product remains unabated. Absolutely no compromise on the storing of, the selection and the preparation of the item. She has this breadth and depth of experience having been there from the catch to the eating of it.

What are we talking about? Fish balls. She eats only what she makes and avoids all the other varieties, whether from shops or sold "fresh" at wet markets or pasar malams. She avoids the commercial ones like the black death because they are all filled with "medicine water", to use her words. And let's have her tell her own story. Please forgive the stilted translation.

"Fish balls? Make yourself. Very good to eat. No medicine water. Make good ones must be from fresh fish. Fish take out of net, still jumping must put in ice straight away. No sun shine on fish, fish balls very soft, no bounce. Come back, cut quickly. If have to keep, each piece [fillet] put one layer fish, one layer ice. No put fish on fish. That one also make fish ball soft. When cut and knife cannot go through flesh in one cut, that one also fish ball soft. I don't use. "

Now that the lady does not go out with the boats, I asked where she bought her raw materials from. She shook her head with such sadness and continued......."One time I go Selayang Market. Before 5 o'clock [5 a.m.]. My heart pain when I see people put medicine water on loose fish. Big, big fish also got put medicine water. Only the big box pack with ice and fish they no put medicine water. That one twenty eight kilo. How to buy? Fish ball make with medicine water fish got smell."

And the lady (with no chemistry knowledge whatsoever) goes on to say that to store fish balls already made but uncooked, they have to be kept in very, very salted water so the flavout does not "run out". Quite a remarkable woman.

What about stock for the fish balls? Well.....that's another story for another day.

George the Kilt.

Confession time .. my secret affair

2005-11-02T01:36:00.000+08:00

We met earlier this year at the Curve and then met again earlier this month. Since then, we've been meeting weekly, like clockwork, without fail. I don't know what to do about it .. I know it's not good for me but I'm loving every moment of it, savouring each visit ...

Ever since Paddington's House of Pancakes opened in Hartamas Shopping Centre .. I've been there every weekend since the beginning of this month! I love the pancakes there and it's really a great place to have dessert on a Saturday night.

So far, I've had
Pancakes with bananas and maple syrup
Panakeok with lemon and honey
Panakeok with deep fried bananas, peaches, mandarins, raisins and nuts with double scoop of vanilla ice cream
Blintzes with caramelised bananas, raisins, nuts and ice cream

Today I tried my first savoury pancake - the one with two sausages, hash brown and salami. It actually wasn't too bad ...

Till next week then, my love ...

Paddington's House of Pancakes
The Curve @ Mutiara Damansara
Hartamas Shopping Centre @ Sri Hatamas

[#46] Aussie cuisine?

2005-10-19T00:50:00.000+08:00

It is not often when you go to a nice restaurant and come out unhappy over all the courses but I guess there's always a first. Recently we tried the newly opened Flinders Restaurant in Mont Kiara and came out an unhappy lot. Situated next to Energy Day Spa, the place has a nice breezy feeling to it, with very clean lines, whitewashed wooden floor, giving it all a very nautical feel, not unlike the places I have dined at before in Australia on a nice summer day.

The place was rather empty when we went, I guess not many people know about the place yet.

The menus are on nice blue cards and has a selection of light bites for anytime to Lunch and Dinner menus which have a mixture of salads, pastas and heavier mains and desserts. We decided to order Flinder's signature dishes, including the foie gras for appetizer, smoked duck and roast lamb.

We love foie gras so when the dish came (quite quickly I may add!) we were ready to go (not to mention I was really hungry as it was past my normal dinner time already). Presentation was ok, nothing inspiring, with poached pears at the bottom and the foie gras sitting on top, no greens or anything else to decorate the huge white plate. We dug in .. now, I love the way foie gras is balanced with normally a sweet type sauce to balance the delicate taste of the liver but even though I have a sweet tooth, the pears were way too sweet, overpowering the light taste of the foie gras, which also tasted not so fresh. The liver wasn't very large but there was also quite a lot of pear so it becams quite sickly sweet at the end of the appetizer.

Mains at Flinders is served with a heavy baked potato gratin, which was quite nice, except that it got a bit jelak towards the end with the heavy cream. It's a heavy accompaniment and reminded me of the heavy winter meals we used to have back in Melbourne. The sliced smoked duck sat on the lentil salad and again, the presentation wasn't anything to shout about as there were no greens or any other color to feast my eyes on. The duck was a bit tasteless, if anything, slightly salty and the abundance of lentil salad didn't help either as both did not have much taste to it.

G's roast lamb was at least better to look at and it looked promising. However, we learnt that looks can be deceiving. However, at least with the dried apricot sauce, there was some taste to add to the lamb, which was also served with sage polenta.

By the time we got to dinner and looked through the menu (signature deserts were lavender creme brulee and pumpkin tiramisu, other desserts incuded strawberry jelly with basil and some other desserts which tended to marry fruit with herbs), I settled on the Valhora chocolate parfait . We decided that we woiuldn't choose any of the Signature dishes anymore and what could be easier to prepare than chocolate!

How wrong we were. The parfait was basically assembled out of a base of chcolate coco-pops, with bananas in the middle and a scoop of chocolate ice cream on the top. Right! The ice cream was solid hard and when we tasted it, it had a powdery taste to it (we later learnt it was homemade), the banana were unriped and the wrong kind of bananas to use for these types of desserts and there nothing worse than having tasteless bananas. The coco pops were ..well ... coco pops!

The meal, including a glass of Kir (flavoured white wine) and Evian water cost over RM200 and that's after the 15% Opening discount (up to 31st October 2005)

The place has potential as a party venue, which was what I had in mind already, but the food was just disappointing. I hope that it's only because they are new but then again, in this industry, first impressions or in this case, first taste, counts. Looking through the menu again at the end, it looks like they're trying too hard to be fusion, which may or may not sit well with the diners. This place reminds of me of when Moomba (another Australian-inspired restaurant that opened up at Wisma UOA in the late 90s) first opened - people came but nothing kept them coming back. I hope Flinders does better ... Good Luck!

Flinders
Ground Level, Damai Sari
Mont Kiara Damai
3 Jalan Kiara 2, Mont Kiara
Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03 6203 1841
fax: 03 6203 1756
Website: www.flinders.com.my

Quack Quack and more . ....

2005-10-17T19:08:00.000+08:00

After the usual "what are we eating?" "anything" "where are we eating?" "anywhere" banter, IS and I found ourselves at De Champion Duck Restaurant at Damansara Utama.

There wasn't much duck left as it was quite late but we managed to have some anyway. The duck's not bad, moist and tender and not too "ducky". Was told by the owner that the 'char siew' was VERY GOOD but they had run out so too bad ...

Anyway, new management has taken over this place (about 6 months ago) so while the restaurant name remains the same, the Chef has changed. We were told that to come at lunch time (they are opened everyday) for fresher meats.

As we paid to leave (we were the last customers there), IS spotted some white liquid in a bottle that the owner and chef were drinking and asked what it was. Turns out it was fresh toddy, delivered about 5 hours before, all the way from Mantin. Owner asked if we would like to try it. Oh well! Never tasted it before so why not?

We tried it neat i.e. pure from the bottle and there was kind of a little sourish taste to it. Looked a bit like really thick barley water. Then Mr L poured in some Stout and asked us to try it again. That made it sweeter and the taste more complex with more body. It was quite interesting and quite yummy! We were also told that fresh toddy needed to be consumed within 2 days else it would smell and taste worse than "old socks water" .Anyway, we ended up having a few rounds with our new 'friends' before we called it a night.

As we left the restaurant *pow* the strength of the toddy hit us. The stuff is really lethal especially when we drank so little. Anyway, I'd love to try it again - the toddy, I mean. Oh .. and also the famous char siew ...

D'Champion Duck Restaurant
(same row as Maybank, and few doors away from Vicchuda?)
Damansara Utama
Petaling Jaya
Selangor

[#45] Yung Kee Roast Goose - absolutely delicious!

2005-10-11T23:33:00.000+08:00

There is no doubt that Yung Kee has to be THE place for roast goose in Hong Kong and it's no co-incidence that many years ago, when I last visited HK with Cynthia and Adrian, we were taken there by David C (resident Hongkonger) as introduced as the best place for the goose and this time round, G also took me there.

We arrived early for dinner which was lucky else we wouldn't have gotten seats without a reservation. Of course, when at Yung Kee's one has to order their famous roast goose which is what we did and then we were lost for what order next! The friendly waiter then suggested the set dinner which comprised the following:
Roast Goose with Preserved Trotter with Soy Sauce
Deep Fried Prawn with Mini Crab Roe
Abalone with Mushroom in Superior Soup
Steamed Garoupa with Chinese Ham
Wonton Noodles
Mango Pudding

Yeap! All for two people!

The goose was absolutely delicious - tender, not gamey with the perfect crispness to the skin.
The prawns were ok, I thought the little crab was really cute!
Abalone was VERY yummy!
The fish was so-so ..nothing much to shout about. Rest of the menu were just supporting acts to the main cast of GOOSE!

I think everyone who visits Hong Kong has to make a stop there.

The Award-Winning Set Meal will set you back around HK$700 (RM350)

Yung Kee
32-40 Wellington Street, Central, Hong Kong
Tel: +852 25221624
http://www.yungkee.com.hk

[#44] Isola's - the place to be in Hong Kong

2005-10-11T23:11:00.000+08:00

After a tour on the Duk Ling junk which took us round the Harbour, G took me to Isola's, touted as one of the most happening eating places in town. It's not hard to see why. Located at the new swanky IFC Mall, Isola has a lovely terrace which overlooks Kowloon and on a nice day, probably one of the main reasons to dine there. Unfortunately, on the Sunday we were there, apart from the fact that I was suffering from a severe case of runny nose (that always happens to me on the first day in a highly polluted country!), the pollution index was pretty high which meant that Kowloon was a hazy sight. Thus, we decided to dine in!

We chose the Sunday brunch menu which gave us a choice of soup or antipasti buffet, pasta and dessert buffet. Before anything I had to down some Chinese pills to stop my nose from running anymore, downed with imported Italian still mineral water, no less, of course!

The antipasti buffet was scrumptious with a lovely selection of ham, salami, roasted veges, etc. Real pity I couldn't taste that much with the blasted runny nose! For mains, we both chose the spaghetti with prawn and crab which was yummy but such a huge serving!

The dessert buffet was fabulous but I was SO full by then so I could only manage a little bit of some.

Brunch at Isola's doesn't come cheap. With our 2 bottles of imported Italian still mineral water, brunch set us back nearly HK$800 (around RM400).

Isola Bar + Grill
Level 3, IFC Mall, Central Hong Kong
Tel: +852 23838765
http://www.isolabarandgrill.com

Knock yoursleves out this Ramadhan 2005

2005-10-11T11:55:00.000+08:00

1. Equatorial KL (Nippah Coffeeshop)
RM79++ for adult, RM42++ for child;
100 fantastic specialties offered.
Traditional treats like Bubur Lambuk Daging, Sotong Gulai Minang, Gulai Ketam Bernanas, Kupang Masak Lemak Daun Kesum etc. Beverages include Sirap Bandung, Air Cincau, Lychee, Assam Boi and Peach Tea. Patrons who dine on at their Ramadhan buffet from 3 - 10 October 2005 will receive a 15% discount.

2.Saloma Bistro Theatre
109 Jalan Ampang, Kuala Lumpur; 03-21619122
RM65.00 nett per person (with cultural show), RM48.00 nett per person (without show).
Kampung style dishes will be served during the month of Ramadan at Saloma Theatre Restaurant e.g. salads and kerabu, soups, hot dishes, action stalls dishes, desserts. Six different menus which rotates daily.

3.Sun & Surf CafÃ©/Atrium CafÃ© (Sunway Lagoon Resort, Pyramid Tower)
Sunway Lagoon Resort Hotel
Level 1, Persiaran Lagoon Bandar Sunway, Bandar Sunway; 03-7492 8000 ext 3169
Sun & Surf Cafe is priced at RM72++ per adult and RM36++ per child.
Ramadhan Pride at Atrium Cafe is priced at RM52++ per adult and RM26++ per child.

Evergreen favourites from the thirteen (13) states of Malaysia .

4.Terrace Cafe, Putrajaya Mariott
Putrajaya Marriott, IOI Resort, Putrajaya ; 03-8949 8888 ext 1888/1889
RM78++ per adult and RM47++ per child.
Hawker stalls, live carving stations and a la minute cooking stations.
Live ghazal music and suraus are available throughout the month for all muslim patrons convenience

5.The Terrace, The Regent (KL)
160 Jalan Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur 03-21418000 ext 4245
RM70.00++ per person
75 varieties of dishes.

6.Paya Serai Restaurant, PJ Hilton
2 Jalan Barat, Petaling Jaya; 03-79559122 ext 4060
RM69++ per person for adults. RM49++ for children of 12 years and below.

There will be four Ramadhan menus on a rotational basis.

7.Melati Hall, Sheraton Subang Hotel & Towers.
Jalan SS 12/1, Subang Jaya, Subang Jaya; 03 - 5031 6060
RM60++ per adult ; RM30++ per child between 5 and 12 years old.
Live cooking demonstrations by celebrity chef, Jaafar Onn in traditional kampung setting, appetizers, "homemade" recipes and selections, Asian Favourites cooked "a la minute" & desserts and live entertainment.

8. Taman Sari Brasserie, Istana Hotel
73 Jalan Raja Chulan, Kuala Lumpur; 03-21419988 (ext 3667)
RM78.00++ per person, Children above 7 years will be charge at RM 48.00++ per child.
Asian, Mediterranean to Western choices at Berbuka Puasa buffet.
Live traditional music by the Kumpulan Sri Mewah II group, nightly.
Ramadhan quiz and win surprise gifts.

9.Melting Pot Cafe, Concorde KL
Jalan Sultan Ismail, Kuala Lumpur; 03-2144 2200 ext 2337
RM58.00++ per person.
Home-cooked dishes from Negeri Sembilan.
Guest chef, Chef Razilah Bte Yusof or Kak Zilah teams up with Che Yah Bte Che Mamat and Zabedah Bte Ali.

10.Sunflowers Brasserie.
The Royale Bintang
17-21 Jalan Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur; 03-21439898
RM48++ per person
RM24++ for children aged from 4-12 years old.
50 different dishes each day.
Special action stalls await you with an array of specialties like Laksa Sarawak, Roti Canai and Murtabak with Daging.

11. Abdul's & Charlie's
Mines Bearch Resort And Spa
The Mines Resort City Jalan Dulang, Seri Kembangan; 03-8943 6688 Ext 1117/1122
RM55++ for adults, RM28++ for children.
Traditional Malaysian favourites ulam-ulam and salad selections, soup, porridge of the day & hot selections.
Steamboat, satay, Thai barbeque, noodle and traditional rice counter.

12.Vogue Cafe
Renaissance Hotel,
Corner of Jalan Sultan Ismail & Jalan Ampang, Kuala Lumpur ; 03-2162 2233
RM79.00 per person.
Buffet spread of authentic Malay delicacies and East-West as well as Pacific Rim cuisine.
The buffet spread consist of local specialties, and indulge in other Pacific Rim delicacies such as Sushi & Sashimi, Salmon in Puff Pastry, Oyster Rockefeller and Steamed Garoupa.

13. Stage Lounge RM79.00 per person.
RM49 per person
Typical Malay buka puasa "balik kampung" dishes.

14. Botanica Brasserie Restaurant
Sheraton Imperial Kuala Lumpur
Jalan Sultan Ismail, Kuala Lumpur; 03-27179933
RM79++ per person.
Buffet spread, with 10 new stalls featuring local favourites as well as other selections from the buffet line, like Sushi and Sashimi or Vietnamese Fish Claypot and Chinese Ginger Chicken with condiments.

15. Satay Club
JW Marriott Hotel Kuala Lumpur
183 Jalan Bukit Bintang, 55100 Kuala Lumpur;03-2716 8562
RM 48.00++ per person
108 of the best of traditional dishes from various states. The Poolside area on the 6th Floor of the JW Marriott and the Starhill Conference Centre on 4th floor of the JW Marriott Hotel Kuala Lumpur will be transformed into a Ramadhan bazaar, to replicate a "kampong" ambience.

Pak Ali, the hotel's icon for the month of Ramadhan who will be presenting dates and Malay kueh to guests just before â€œberbuka puasaâ€.

16.Swez Brasserie
Eastin Hotel, Jalan 16, Petaling Jaya; 03- 7665 1111 ext 137
RM80++ (adults). RM52++ (children aged 4 to 12 years)
Middle Eastern as well as authentic Malay and Middle Eastern dishes. Turkish specialties such as ˜baba ghanoush", Turkish lamb, ˜baklava", ˜taramasalata" and Turkish-style grilled chicken.
Live ghazal music, performed nightly during dinner hours.

17.Balik Kampung Gastronomy
RM65++ (adults); RM37++ (children aged 4 to 12 years)
Malaysian fare with home-cooked dishes such as Prawn Sambal Petai, Sotong Masak Lemak Cili Api, Briyani Ayam, Lidah Sapi dengan Air Asam, Ikan Cencaru Sumbat, Nasi Ulam Bubur Lambuk, Kerabu Daging, Ulam-ulam, Pucuk Ubi & Ikan Masin.

18. Rahsia Bistro & Wine Bar
13 Jalan Damai, 55000 Kuala Lumpur ; 03 2142 5555
RM38 nett.
Different Menu Daily
Menu e.g. : Rojak Buah - Penang Style, Mini Rolls with Sweet Thai Dip, Sukun Goreng, Tauhu Sambal, Kari Ayam, Kurma Daging Lembu, Sayur Campur Oriental Style, Nasi Tomato, Nasi Putih, Sup Tulang, Sup Ekur, Ikan Keli Masak Belada, Kangkung Belacan, Ulam-ulaman, Kerabu Jantung Pisang, Kerabu Mangga, Nangka Masak Lemak, Kuih Muih, Bubur Kacang, Pengat Pisang, Sajian Buah buahan Tempatan.

19.Cafe Serena Brasserie
Nikko Hotel, Kuala Lumpur; (603) 2161 1111
RM80.00++ per person
Ramadhan spread consisting of more than 80 home made favourites, international as well as fusion dishes. E.g. Rendang Tok Perak, Kalio Daging, Ketam Masak Cili Api, Fried Udon Noodles with Sambal Belacan and more. In addition, there are 8 action stalls offering endless varieties of cuisines.

First 25 group reservations confirmed (min 30 persons) will receive a special fruit cake. -Each diner will receive a pack of dates in an exclusive pouch. -Live entertainment starts from 6.45pm to 9.30pm

20.Benkay Japanese Restaurant
Nikko Hotel, Kuala Lumpur; 03-2782 6268
RM88++ per set, RM68++ per set
Special bento box meal for buka puasa, inclusive of sweet dates. Diners can enjoy a Malay traditional music performance while feasting on food like grilled mutton and seafood.

21.Pool Deck of Lanai Gurney.
Lanai Gurney Corporate Suites; 03-4256 6119
M45 nett
35 dishes by Chef Din.
5 + 1(free) diner. So there's 6 of you, each will pay about RM37.50 only.

22.Semarak Cafe
Grand BlueWave Hotel, Section 14, Shah Alam ; 03-50313388 ext 2811, 2805, 2804
RM59++ for adult, RM39++ for senior citizens, RM29++ for children below 12 years old.
Minangkabau cuisine as well as several Chinese, Western and Japanese dishes.

23.Agehan
RM59++ (adults), RM49++(senior citizens 55 years and above), RM29++ (children between 7 and 12 years)
30 Japanese food varieties like sushi, sashimi, california roll, chawan mushi, saba teriyaki, tori katsu and much more.

24.Cafe on the Tenth
Crowne Princess Kuala Lumpur,
City Square Centre, Jln Tun Razak; 03-2162 5522 ext. 5503
RM68++ (adults), RM34++ (children)

25.Rasa Melaka: Choices range from Malaccan Peranakan cooking to Malay, Nyonya, Portugese and Chitty food.

26.Hard Rock Cafe
Concorde Hotel, Jalan Sultan Ismail, Kuala Lumpur ; 03-2715 5555
RM39, RM30, RM26
The menu selection consists of sizzling cod fish, roast shoulder of kebab, barbecue beef kebab, baked Portugese fish and local style barbecue chicken.

27. Lemon Garden Cafe
Shangri-La Hotel, 11 Jalan Sultan Ismail, Kuala Lumpur; 03-2074 3902
RM88++ (adult), RM44++ (children 3 to 12 years)
Malay, Chinese, Indian and Western food in five rotational menus : acar rampai Nyona, sotong bakar berkunyit, ketam bakar bermadu, ayam tikka khadari, udang putih masak rendang, kambing briyani and many more.

28.The Planter's Inn
Crowne Plaza Mutiara Kuala Lumpur, Jalan Sultan Ismail, Kuala Lumpur
RM85++ per person, (50% discount for children 12 years and below)
Buffet line of food like kerabu mangga, kerabu anika laut, ikan patin masak asam tempoyak, udang masak lemak dengan nenas, and ikan gelama masin. Local and international desserts like bubur pulut hitam, bubur pengat labu and tapai ubi are also available.

29.Planet Hollywood
Planet Hollywood Kuala Lumpur, KL Plaza, Jalan Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur; 03-2144 6602
RM42++ (adults), RM21++ (children below 12 years)
Ketam goreng masala, baked mussel, beef and chicken satay, rendang kerang, ikan masak tempoyak, koori chicken, lala masam manis, udang koori, mee jawa, nasi beriyani, pengat labu and many more.

30.Gen
Legend Hotel, Putra Place, 03-4042 9888 ext 1011
RM56++ per pax
Japanese Buffet Dinner

31.The Verandah
Federal Hotel Kuala Lumpur; (03) 2148-9166.
RM55++ (adult), RM27.50++ (children below 12)

32.Warisan Buffet Ramadhan
Taman Warisan Pertanian Putrajaya, 03 - 88880099
RM25 nett for Adults, RM15 netts for children.
25 menu choices.

33. Kiara Coffee House
Bukit Kiara Equestrian & Country Resort, Jalan Bukit Kiara, Off Jalan Damansara, Kuala Lumpur; 03-20941222/20931222 ext 218
RM35++ adults, RM26++ children
Malaysian and Middle Eastern buffet. Beef rendang, Mutton Kurma, salads, jeruk, etc.

34.Ario Dee Thai Restaurant
Palm Garden Hotel Putrajaya; 03-8943-2233.
RM38++ per pax.
Authentic Thai Buffet
Hot and spicy as well as live action stations: tom yam noodles and laksa Siam on the spot.
Main main buffet counter: mango sticky rice, pandan chicken, fragrant rice, asparagus with Thai sambal and others.
Dessert corner offers tako, water chestnut in coconut milk and mango pudding.

35. Wild Rice Restaurant
Boulevard Hotel, Mid Valley City, Lingkaran Syed Putra, 59200 Kuala Lumpur; 03-22958000
RM60 nett per person
Early Bird Promotion: For a group of 10, 2 persons eat for free (so each pay only RM48).

Finally .. Tony Roma's to open in KL!

2005-09-21T22:39:00.001+08:00

Finally, it's coming to Malaysia! Let's hope it's REAL khinzir, not the cow kind!!!

From The Star, 21st Sept 2005
Taste of Tony Roma’s soon

By GEETHA KRISHNAN
Photo by LOW BOON TAT

TONY Roma’s is heading for our shores so Malaysians too will be able to savour their world-famous steaks and flame-grilled meats.

Back in 1972, an American guy called Tony Roma set up a cosy restaurant in Florida, offering delicious baby back ribs basted with his special sauce.

The fame of his grilled and barbecued meats spread throughout the United States.

Today, there are more than 260 Tony Roma’s restaurants in 27 countries, including Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, Australia, Germany and China.

The Malaysian deal was sealed after Grandpolitan Sdn Bhd signed an international franchise agreement with operator and franchise holder Romacorp Inc to set up four Tony Roma’s restaurants in the country.

The agreement was signed in Kuala Lumpur recently.

Grandpolitan was represented by its managing principal George Ang while Romacorp Inc was represented by its franchise development vice-president Kenneth Myres.

Romacorp operates 29 restaurants and franchises 222 restaurants through its subsidiary companies.

Ang said the first Tony Roma’s would be located in a major shopping mall in the Klang Valley and will open in May.

Besides its award-winning baby back ribs, Tony Roma’s is known for barbecued chicken, flame-grilled steaks, onion loaf, potato skins, baked potato soup, salad and hamburgers.

[#43] Hai Pheng Coffee House, Kemaman, Trengganu

2005-07-25T01:02:00.000+08:00

I've been hearing about this place for quite a while and finally got the chance to visit it beginning of June, when my company stayed overnight at Cherating for our Treasure Hunt. Having woken up rather late on Sunday morning (actually, it wasn't that late .. only around 9-ish), I was informed that there was no need to hurry to the breakfast buffet because there wasn't much food left and what was left was #$%^~!!

Seeing we were only about 20 minutes away from Kemanan, a group of us decided to visit this famous establishment.

The place was busy but we managed to find seats and feasted on nasi dagang, nasi lemak, local coffee, kaya on toast and half-boiled eggs. There was so much food on the table! The kaya on toast here is a little different because the bread is not in the normal form we are used to but rather, in a bun-like form. It was quite yummy though!

Hai Pheng Coffee
Location: Tall building off the main road entering Kemaman. You can't miss it. When you see the building, turn right into the street and find a parking space.
Tel: 05 859 7810
website: www.kopi.com.my (it may be down though)

Indian Curry Recipes

2005-07-25T00:23:00.000+08:00

This blog got me salivating!! I LOVE Indian food, especially the DESSERTS!!!!
http://indiancurryrecipes.blogspot.com/

Now I feel like having Indian food but I'll be having a week of Cambodian food ahead of me so the Gulab Jamul will just have to wait!

[#42] Best French in Shanghai!

2005-06-27T14:28:00.001+08:00

During my recent trip to Shanghai, I had the priviledge of visiting the top French restaurant in Shanghai - Jean Georges. Located on No 3 on the Bund (next door to M on the Bund) walking into the restaurant I felt like I was walking back in time into the opulent Shanghai of the 1930s.

We went for Sunday brunch which meant that the place was not so busy as normal evenings. We had a table by the window, overlooking the Bund with a perfect view of the ultra-modern Pudong area (our jolt back into reality!) with the Pearl Oriental Tower looking ready to take-off anytime and the Jingmao Tower, all 88 floors of it which also houses the Pudong Hyatt Hotel.

Between the four of us, we had, from the menu of Chef De Cuisine Eric Johnson:

Appetizers
King Fish Sashimi, Spieced Tapioca and Asian Pear
Foie Gras Brule, Dried Sour Cherries, Candied Pistachio
Sea Scallops with Caper-Raisin Emulsion, Caramalised Cauliflower
Kunamoto Oysters with Sparkling Champagne Jelly
Crispy Crad Cake, Cucumber and Lime
Orange Dusted Tiger Prawnsm Artichokes and Aragula
Broiche French Toast, Caramelised Apple

Mains
Garoupa Briased with Citrus and Tumeric, Asparagus and Scallps
Red Snapper Crsuted with Nut and Seeds, Sweet and Sour Jus
Veal Tenderloin with Smoked Chili Glaze, Potato Noodle Gratin
Grilled Sirloin of Beef, Soy, Garlic and Coriander

Dessert Chef Jason Casey surprised is with an offering of 4 item tasting which comprised of:
Warm Chocolate Cake
De-constructed Pina Colada
Banana Tart with Toffee / Caramel cream
and another dessert which was like a souffle but I can't remember what it was.

Us ladies washed all this down with a bottle of Bollinger Champagne and a half bottle of red wine.

3 hours later, we managed to extract ourselves from the lovely surroundings of Jean Georges and the lovely company of Chef Jason Casey and continued the rest of our culinary journey in Shanghai.

Of course, as expected and seeing this is the only Jean Georges restaurant outside New York, the prices are steep. For dinner, expect to fork out USD120-150 per pax or do the smart thing we did, go for the Sunday brunch where you can still sample the food without burning such a big hole in your pocket!

To read more about the man behind this great restaurant, please visit his site at http://www.jean-georges.com/ (PS. It also has the recipe for the Warm Chocolate Cake!)

Other useful information (from http://www.smartshanghai.com/en/scripts/loc.php?loc=444&name=Jean%20Georges%20Shanghai)

Address:
4/F, 17 Guang Dong Rd, inside "3 on the Bund

Phone:
6321 7733

Hours:
Lunch: Mon-Sun 11.30am-2.30pm
Dinner: Mon-Sun 5.30pm-11:00pm
Bar: Mon-Sun 11.30am-1.00am

Cards:
American Express, Mastercard, Visa, Diners Club, JCB

Prices:
Dinner for two with wine from RMB1700

Nearby metro stations:
15 minutes walking distance south/east of HeNan Zhong Road, Metro#2

Venue Website:
www.on-the-bund.com

[#41] Pancakes galore!

2005-06-27T14:26:00.001+08:00

Review by SA

PADDINGTON HOUSE OF PANCAKES
142, 1st Floor, The Curve

For the pancake lover, this restaurant is about as
close to heaven as it gets. For starters, one needs to
allocate a fair amount of time to go through the menu,
as it is a fairly thick document requiring full focus
and concentration. You'll be overwhelmed by the choice
of savoury and sweet pancakes, each sounding more
mouth-watering than the last. The savoury pancakes are
named according to their countries of origin and the
sweet pancakes are just listed randomly and sinfully.

Service left rather a lot to be desired though, as
there seemed to be only 2 waiters, one of whom did not
seem to be in a very good mood. We had to wait quite a
while before someone appeared to take our order. I
ordered the Rome Pannekoek, TM ordered Grilled
Eggplant & Buckwheat Pancakes and CT ordered the
Honolulu Black Pepper Pannekoek. The Pannekoeks
consisted of a large thin pancake, liberally smothered
in mozarella cheese, olives, and sundried, plum and
cherry tomatoes, Generally, the Rome Pannekoek and
Honolulu Black Pepper Pannekoek were quite tasty and
very satisfying, albeit a little rich (there was LOTS
of mozarella!). The Grilled Eggplant & Buckwheat
Pancakes however turned out to be rather a
disappointment as the eggplant was so peppery that it
was really quite impossible to eat! The Buckwheat
Pancakes on their own were rather good though, but TM
gave up trying to eat it in a fit of sneezing and
turned her attention to the dessert menu within 10
minutes!

For dessert we shared a Treasure Box, comprising tiny
dollar size pancakes garnished with slices of
bananna, peaches, plum, strawberries and liberally
topped with nuts, raisins and almonds together with
vanilla ice cream. This was really quite delicious and
we concluded that really, the sweet pancakes were the
way to go from now on!

Of goose liver and teacup soups...

2005-04-01T21:50:00.000+08:00

Foie Gras
I'm not sure whether anyone else has notice this but many (too many!) restaurants are now serving foie gras. Once upon a time, only found in really high-class, French fine dining restaurants, it's now finding it's way into your neighbourhood cafe!

For me, it started off at Zipangu, the Jap restaurant at Shangri-La, KL. They are now pairing foie gras with Japanese cuisine. Had the panfried foie gras delicately placed on top of a piece of daikon. It was actually quite delicious, though difficult to eat the large piece of daikon. We also had something which resembled a fresh spring roll, like a popiah, but with the rice paper roll and not fried. That also had foie gras in it. Too bad the taste was overpowered by the veges.

Next, at Mizu, the Jap restaurant at Bangsar Village. They, too, served foie gras with daikon similar to the one at Zipangu.

Even Opus Bistro is riding on this trend and serving foie gras salad, which I didn't try (I think paying over RM40 is a bit much for salad!). There's another 2 restaurants which we went which is also serving foie gras but I can't remember their names off hand now.

Tea Cups
Another slighly annoying trend at Japanese restaurants, namely the 2 mentioned above as well as at Waka-ru, Jap restaurant near KLCC, is that for the Second Course of a set meal, they serve this Japanese Tea Cup Soup. It was really kawaii the first time, with the soup served in a small Japanese tea pot which you have to pour into a small tea cup and drink from it, but after the 5th or 6th round of pouring, you just wish that they would have given it in a bowl! Open the teapot and there a large prawn and some meat and mushrooms in it.

As I mentioned, it was cute the first time but it's really annoying me now ... perhaps it's a test in patience ..and more!

Know of any other restaurants serving foie gras and soup in tea pots? Let me know!

[#40]Grrrr!! The Bulldog is in town

2005-03-29T18:39:00.001+08:00

A quaint little English pub has opened up this side of town, in the sleepy hollow if Sri Hartamas (the quiet side as opposed to Desa Sri Hartamas aka Bangsar 2). Located in the row facing the Petronas Gas Station, parking is not normally a problem.

We decided to pop in there for brunch last Sunday. Now, I have been there before, with SA, on the eve of Chinese New Year and it was all very quiet but on Sunday, Easter Sunday nonetheless, it was packed to the brim with the Pomps and Aussies.

On my first visit, I had their BLT sandwich was which quite yummy, as all simple comfort food is - 2 large slices of white bread with bacon, lettuce and tomatoes (duh!) inside and a generous serving of chips on the side. SA, had the baked ham and cheese sandwich and almost regretted it as it was very, very rich, with melted cheese oozing from the top.

On Easter Sunday, we had a serving of English Breakfast and Sunday lamb. The English Breakfast is served all day (which is great!) and comes with bacon, baked beans, baked tomato, too little mushroom, sausages and fried bread. The fried bread was really oily and that didn't go down too well with my tum tum. Next time I'll just ask for toast I think. The Sunday lamb was OK, wasn't fantastic or anything but the portion was certainly generous. Came with sauce (brown, not mint) and peas and baked potatoes.

The service here is normally quite good but food generally doesn't appear in a hurry. Afterall, it's a drinking place. On Easter Sunday it was quite bad as we had to wait 45 minute - 1 hour for the food to arrive and by the time I tucked into the lamb, it was around 2pm!

Anyway, I think I will still give Sunday breakfast a go, especially when I want to 'escape' Malaysia for a bit. Once you step inside, it's like you're transported to good ol' England (with the exception of nasi lemak on the menu!). they also have a piano and a little stage there. Perhaps the DitVits may like to consider have a little sing-song session there?

The BullDog
31 & 31-1 Jalan Sri Hartamas 7
Taman Sri Hartamas
50480 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03 6201 4484
Fax: 03 6201 4534

Sarang Murai

2005-03-06T18:16:00.001+08:00

I first heard about this from a friend of a friend, EY. This lady is very much connected into the expat-type scene in town (being an expat herself) and that group is always looking for unique and different places to feast. Not having any financial restraints also helps matters.

During one of EY's dinner at FIC's, the group was talking about this fantastic place up in some hillside but near enough to the city and how you can have a dinner party there as long as you have at least 10 guests and they will cook specially for you. That place was no other than Sarang Murai.

Lately, in the Star newspaper, there have been a a couple of articles on the place as well and I'm more determined than ever to organised a group to go there. A group that will enjoy good food and don't mind paying up to RM100 per head.

We will have to book at least 4 days in advance and the place accomodates 10 to 35 guests. They have Asian (Thai, Malaysian Portugese, Indonesia and Indian) and a Couscous menu priced at RM40 and RM50 per head respectively. There are also vegetarian meals and a high tea menu as well.

Accomodation is also available, which is great for a group outing ... what a better way to end a meal than to crawl back to a comfortable bed??

So, any takers?

Manager: Razif Rashid
SARANG MURAI
Lot 2258, Batu 18 1/2 Jalan Pangsun
43100 Hulu Langat
Selangor
Tel: 03 9021 5173
Fax: 03 9021 7414

(The place is roughly 25km from the 9th Mile Cheras police station)

#39 TARBUSH

2005-02-23T22:11:00.001+08:00

Review by SA

For vegetable lovers, this place is great - it serves delicious preparations of vegetables. My personal favourite is the Tarbush Salad at RM 7, made up of romaine lettuce, tomato, cucumber, lemon juice and olive oil. I would also recommend the Tabouleh, which is chopped parsley, tomato, crushed wheat, lemon juice and olive oil.

The meat dishes are pretty good too. My friends ordered lamb biryani (RM 14.00) and the Spring Chicken (RM 15.00) while I ordered the Mix Grill (RM 18.00). The meat was tender and succulent and well flavoured. Portions are pretty generous, so it's fairly good value for money.

There are a couple of interesting deserts - to date, I've only tried the creme caramel, and it's excellent. Creamy, smooth and rich.

TARBUSH
Lebanese Cuisine
Lot G05 Ground Floor
Ampang Point Shopping Centre
Jalan Mamanda 3
Ampang Point, 68000 Ampang
Selangor Darul Ehsan
Tel : 03-42534177
Fax:03-21417357

Good Assam Laksa is like Good Wine!

2005-02-20T20:26:00.000+08:00

Today the family and I went to Ipoh to do our Chinese New Year rounds and visited all our grandaunties there. My uncle from Penang also drove down to meet us there. Seeing that we hardly return to Penang these days, he took the liberty of bringing some of Penang to us. My favourites - assam laksa, chee cheong fun and 'kelinga' mee (indian mee).

Of course, our before we even got to it, we started the day off by having breakfast at Bidor, a small town about 45 minutes south of Ipoh which is famous for it's duck noodles. The shop is Pun Chun and it's on Jalan Besar (the main road). As I already had the noodles 3 weekends ago on the way to Pangkor Laut (post #36) I decided to go for the plain kwan lo char-siew wanton mee (dry noodles with wonton and roast pork). My parents and Uncle J, who hadn't been to the shop in over 20 years also ordered the same dish and they loved it - the noodles was homemade, handmade and kinda curly-wurly and the wanton fillings were generous in portion with minced pork and prawns. They also liked the woo kok (yam filled with minced pork) and siew pow (baked pork buns). For dessert, we could not resist when I spied kai tan kow (simple baked egg cakes) at the bottom of the display and it was absolutely delicious - light and moist.

I digress from the title. Will save the lunch review for another post.

Had the assam laksa, which is one of my favourite Penang hawker dishes of all time. Looked at mom and asked her, "Where do you think Uncle R got this from? It's definitely not from my favourite shop at Pulau Tikus."

Mom:Well, I think he would have got it there ... no, wait, they don't start business till later and seeing he would have bought this at like 9am-ish, it's probably some other shop.
Me: I knew it!
Mom: What's wrong with it?
Me: The soup is like a bit raw - not enough of something ... (I proceed to add some ha kow (shrimp paste) to it). That's better but I can still taste the rawness of the chillies .. like a young Chardonnay ...needs more time to mature ..
Mom: You are comparing assam laksa to wine?
Me: Yup! The laksa at the corner Pulau Tikus shop .. the body of the soup is to strong, too much of all the ingredients and boiled for too long. The one near Grandaunty #7's place is too light, not enough body and tastes almost watered down. The one from the Black's wife is perfect - just the right amount of herbs and fish, etc boiled with the right amount of water and not boiled too long so there's no overboiled mush taste and texture yet boiled long enough so that the raw taste of the ingredients like chillies, onions, bunga kantan are all blended really nicely ... like the Blue Pyrenees Estate 1997 Red!!
Mom: You're so weird!

Well, I don't know how else to compare the different tastes and textures of the assam laksa soup. Some are really thick, almost like a stew and if it's overboiled there's that burnt after taste. Some are really light and watery. Then the taste varies - to sour, not sour enough, too sweet, not sweet enough, too much prawn paste, too little bunga kantan, etc .. the list goes on and on ...!!

So, tell me what you think? What other analogies could I use to compare and contrast assam laksa soups? and while on the same strain .. curry laksa soups too!!

Write!