Taiping-like Chee Cheong Fun in PJ

Due to popularity of the chee cheong fun thread, and the ever so interested people in PJ/KL who wanted to try the sort-of-like-Taiping-taste chee cheong fun in Seapark (that I mentioned in the comment). I managed to dig up the old pictures of when I ate there, though bad in quality as it is taken in haste and not for blog quality. But still, I’m sure those interested will go seek out the ‘real’ look and of course 'taste' themselves.

Anyway, this shop, judging from the picture, I guess it’s called ‘Kedai Kopi (coffee shop) Khoong’, or there could be a word behind. Yes, you can see that it is written Kampar fish ball below, which is actually the specialty there (Kampar is well known for its fish ball noodle). But now, the main attraction for us would be the chee cheong fun! Yeah, I heard resounding cheers from you guys ;)

Alright, I should stop being long winded. Here is how this chee cheong fun of sweet sauce looked like:

First of all, I must warn that it is not totally the same as the one from Taiping, tastewise and also look, judging from the previous post look. But it is the sweet sauce type, with very good sauce too I might say, and it does taste with high similarity to the one in Taiping, less red visually, but still good eats (I’ve been a fan of Alton Brown lately) and of course, different from the one in PJ/KL.

Here is the couple that sells the chee cheong fun, don’t miss them as their stall is just a long table, located at the back of the shop. I have a feeling they have been selling here for years!

Of course, since I’m reviewing on this shop too, I might as well mention the Kampar fish ball noodle, which is also very good. It tastes just like the small-town-kind-of-food, if you know what I mean. Like in Taiping, the chicken broth is simple, not laden with MSG or spices, just nice and a little bland (my accustomed taste) to go with the homemade fish balls and noodles.

Here’s the stall:

When I come here for breakfast, all these is only available in the morning, if I’m not wrong as I have only been here twice and in the morning, it always makes me feel I’m back at home, with the simple home cooked style kind of food. Now I miss home!

Kedai Kopi Khoong on Wikimapia

Chee Cheong Fun: The Breakdown

My friend L has once again came up with new findings. This time she outdid herself by going all over Malaysia (almost) in search of all types of chee cheong fun. I had talked about this particular special noodle before, and the one I showed was the fried style. This one is the true way chee cheong fun is served, but of course in also its many varieties. Let’s see what L had come up with, after a series of searching, tasting, analyzing and documenting (now I sound like I studied too much).

Chee Cheong Fun: The Breakdown

When I was growing up, ‘chee cheong fun’ was one of the foods I grew up eating. It is basically steamed flat rice noodles (about a finger’s diameter), cut up into little pieces and then served with a dash of sesame seed and sauce. Now, I can’t tell you what kind of sauce in particular because as the years go by, and when I began to venture out of my humble old town, I realized to my delight, that ‘chee cheong fun’ comes in different variations in different regions.

In my old town Taiping, ‘chee cheong fun’ comes with a rich dose of sesame and fried onions and a type of red sauce which is pretty sweet. The makers would usually add some chilli sauce alongside, to enrich its taste. Sweet is pretty blunt for a Chinese cuisine, you see.

There’s another type of ‘chee cheong fun’ found here and pretty much everywhere else, called the Hong Kong ‘chee cheong fun’. Steam flour noodles, with shelled prawns and pork embedded in between. It usually comes with soy sauce as its gravy, topped with fried onions and again, sesame seed.

Then, found in central Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur’s ‘chee cheong fun’ is actually my favorite among all. Again, the signature steam flour noodles and sesame seed, the version here allows you to choose from a choice or steam or fried ‘yong tau fu’ to accompany your noodles. Garnished with fried onions as well, it is a great alternative to rice.

Way up north in the gourmet island of Penang, the ‘chee cheong fun’ here, is of sweet taste. Thanks to its sauce which is made up of chilli, rojak paste and peanut paste. Again, it comes served with sesame seed.

I hope you enjoy my ‘chee cheong fun’ review found here in Malaysia. If I missed out any version, please drop your comments and till then, happy eating!

*Food, glorious food* - Ice Age 2

Comfort Food from Home

Alright, what is this naughty girl doing here when she is supposed to be studying? Well, she just misses her blogging life and intended to at least post something. I have just tackled the first paper this morning, and hopefully I’ve done well, I wrote till my hand got sore. That should be good news right?

Anyway, mum had just bought a yummy biscuit made in my home town, Taiping, which she had dad brought up to KL for me. My dad works here and he travels back fortnightly. I’ve tried biscuit before, and had an almost addictive liking to it, which I “naturally” mentioned to mum, and so, she bought 2 boxes for me this time! Thank you mum!

It is just what I needed, a non-homemade-as-I-do-not-have-the-time comfort food to fight the exam blues.

Gula Melaka Biscuits

It's a sort of biscuit, with thick floury and buttery skin, wrapped around gula melaka, which is already all chewy and sweet. It has good combination of texture and taste which just have your hands keep crawling back into the box for more! By the way, the box is really cool, it has the picture of the Taiping lake garden at the top.

Now, I have to stop ranting or I’ll start to sound like a girl gone mad from studying, back to where I belong now, the books!

A Cheesy Reward

Yesterday was the day I’m supposed to stay at home and hit the books. My final exam is just around the corner, and I have yet to start on my revision. It took me whole day to really start firing up. Once a while I would sneak into the net and surf the food-blogosphere, to torture myself with all the yummy food out there. I stumbled upon a recipe at Jennifer’s blog, Fallen Souffle, which immediately made me think of J. Yes, you got it right, to think of J, it has to be of cheese and something cake-like. His secret vice. It was Jennifer’s quick and easy Mini Cream Cheese Tarts that had caught my attention.

J and I were both “studying” at our own home, and only to meet at night. Besides the though of rewarding him for his hard work, I also remembered promising him a cake since it had been a long time he had indulged. We nearly went to a local cake shop few weeks ago, but it was too late and the shop is closed for the night. Thus I promised to make for him next time. So here is how I came up with my slightly tweaked version, which I called the

Cream Cheese Bites

I changed the recipe a bit to suit my taste and my pantry of course. First, I used considerably lesser sugar because I do not want it too be too sweet, it might drown the cheesiness out. Then, since I do not have any wafers, I decided to use the idea of regular cheese cake base, by crushing up oats crackers (this was what I have in stock, you can use anything else, like maybe the usual digestive biscuits), and then press it together as base. Lastly, I do not have any tangy jam to put on top of my cheese bites so I forego it, though I really think it would had been a really nice addition. After baking, the cheese bites puffed up, with one cracked up, and then when taken out, it fell a little. Be careful when removing it as it is really soft right out of the oven, which I had disfigured some of it.

225g softened cream cheese
½ cup sugar (or less)
1 egg
1tsp vanilla essence

6 oat crackers/biscuits

Preheat oven to 180C.
Coarsely grind oat biscuits till grainy, then press it into the muffin holes. (I used the back of a glass to compact it)
Then, cream together the cheese and sugar.
Add egg and vanilla essence, mix till incorporated.
Spoon onto the prepared oat base in the muffin tin.
Bake for approximately 20 minutes until set.
Allow it to cool down and refrigerated for better taste.
Then munch on!

A Foodblogger's Meme Around The World

I have been tagged by Tazz on this wonderful meme. I read it the first time at FoodFreak that had made my day, and from there on I found many more blogs and interesting recipes through everybody’s recommendations. So on with mine:

1. Please list three recipes you have recently bookmarked from foodblogs to try:
   

   

   Walnut Coffecake by SeaDragon from Café of the East (I had tried this, pictured above, J and I loved it!)
   Gingersnaps with Crystallized Ginger by Nic from Baking Sheet
   Dal Kachoris by Meena from Hooked on Heat
   
   
2. A foodblog in your vicinity:
   I got a whole list at my Malaysia links on the right



3. A foodblog (or more) located far from you:
   My Mom’s Recipe and More, Chanit in Israel



4. A foodblog (or several) you have discovered recently (where did you find it?):
   Audrey Cooks (a Malaysian blogger I discovered recently from links)
   Pusiva’s Culinary Studio by Pushpa (I think I got to her blog from her comment at mine)
   Saffron Hut (through Anthony’s Curry Mela)



5. Any people or bloggers you want to tag with this Meme?
   Well, I suppose I’m one of the late ones in this. If any of you have yet to do it and wanted to, you’re most invited to.

1984: Birthday 2

I have talked about my good friends 1984 before, and about me making a pact to bake a cake for each and everyone of them this year for their birthday. A customized and personal cake for each of them. The second eldest in the group had her birthday in March, and again, due to all our busy schedules, we had a late celebration.

This birthday girl E, is practically the chatterbox of the group. She chatters about her daily life to us without fail, since eons ago, and she is the only one I know about her life inside out. She would be the one relating stories to each and everyone who is absent from our gatherings, filling in on all the details which I myself might have even overlooked or forgot even if I’m present. She is truly the heart of our 1984 channel of communication.

Well, to be honest, 1984 was not the same as it was before when we were young and carefree in our schooldays, where our only main concern was what to eat in ‘rehat’ (recess). But now, each and every one of us had grown in our own way, lead our own lives and hold to our own principles. Though we may not ever be the same crazy bunch anymore, but somehow our bond is still there. Somehow, somewhere inside us, a part of it is made up of 1984. I know, that no matter what happens in the future, I will always remember that I am who I am today, because a part of me inside is mold and made by them, my beloved 1984s.

Alright, lets get on with the cake! I got to stick to my foodblog theme after all. As for E, she did not make any specific request; she said ‘anything’, one of her favourite phrase. But after drilling her, I found she did not want cheese, no fruits, no nuts, maybe raisins and no coffee. Well, she certainly floored me. I was busy yesterday, due to an extended interview of another fellow 1984 that I took her to, thus leaving me little time to go out and get some crucial ingredients on a cake I initially intended to make. Therefore, I decided to change, flipped through my home baking recipe book and choose the recipe that I happen to have all the ingredients. I did go down to the mini market in my condominium to get the milk and eggs though, easily obtainable.

Caramel Layer Cake

The result of the cake was not really satisfactory. The recipe picture showed a slowly brown coloured cake, which I did not obtain, as I used red sugar (jaggery) instead of brown sugar (that’s what I have in my pantry). Therefore, the resulting cake looked deceivingly like chocolate cake, which J pointed out. The cake texture was not bad, soft and fluffy, but taste wise it was pretty bland, and the caramel coating was not at its best. I guess I made a mistake, taking for granted as one stage in the method requires boiling the mixture to 119C (soft ball stage which I don’t know what the heck is about) on a sugar thermometer (which I do not have). I have yet to make candy and now I know it is pretty impossible without the equipment. Nevertheless, a nice 1984 said yum, and the rest gobbled it without a word, heh, but my dear J tactfully said it’s not one of my best. But oh well, at least I tried a new recipe. Not for keepers and I’m not gonna share it here due to unsatisfactory rating from me. In fact, it is exactly the type of cake I would not buy from the bakery. Here’s the deceiving looking cake (pardon the spur of the moment decoration with icing):

IMBB 24: I Can Make it in 30 Minutes!

When I heard of the theme for IMBB #24, cooking in 30 minutes, and to top it off it has to be a full meal, it got me excited. To me a full meal means it has to be of various nutrients, enough to satiate hunger and to sustain through the day or night. To a Chinese, the fastest and easiest all in one meal could only mean one dish, yes, fried rice.

We Chinese fried rice like it is nobody’s business. There is no standard rule, no recipe to follow and every cook fried their rice their own personal way. Our fried rice does not mean just frying the rice, we add in whatever fresh ingredients we have in the pantry. We throw in this and that, whenever we see fits. In other words, fried rice is basically a dump and fried dish, albeit the prior washing and chopping.

In my opinion, fried rice must be originated from those genius housewives that have plenty of leftover rice everyday and came up with ways to make use of it. Cooked rice from last night dinner could be a quick nutritious whip up lunch for today. Whatever fresh leftovers, could be the extra handful of long beans or the two sticks of carrots or the last chicken fillet, can then be used up to make this magical fried rice. Using the leftover rice was actually the key, as I have been told, since the rice is drier and more tough, thus after frying, it will be at the right texture.

In most Chinese fried rice, the basic secret is in the sauce. Yes, the sauce added when we fried the rice. As far as I usually see, there are two distinct types of fried rice, the white ones or the brown ones. For the white fried rice, it could mostly mean the absence of the dark soya sauce, which is usually used for browning in Chinese cooking. It does have taste too; therefore white fried rice and brown fried rice taste somewhat different, but be careful with the dark soya sauce, as too much added, your dish would be bitter. Usually the white fried rice is added flavour with pepper while brown fried rice is usually heavily laden with soya sauce.

As for me, I have never ever fried rice two times the same way. The basic idea is there, but there are always different ingredients, different mixes of sauces thus different tastes. I fried rice numerous times as it’s my trusty quick nutritional whip up of a full meal. Since there are no ‘proper’ recipes for fried rice, in my context, I would just suggest what is there to add into your fried rice, your take.

It is real quick, especially with leftover rice, it could even be in 15 minutes, along with all the preparation, but if not, I’m sure you can cook the rice first, which takes only about 13 minutes. Be careful to add less water/no water as freshly cooked rice are slightly on the wet side, and you do not want a soggy fried rice. Ultimate fried rice has to be fluffy and every grain is separated. So overall, you will have a complete meal in less than 30 minutes!

Chinese fried rice (must haves)

Basic ingredients

Shallots – my grandma taught me this, as it imparts the important aroma in the every fried rice. Always fried the shallots first, till slightly brown, then add the rest of the ingredients.

Onions – in addition or in absence of the shallots, this could be a good substitute. Brown the onions well too.

Garlic – and lots of it I might say, it is one of the essential basic ingredient in every Chinese cooking, I personally like it finely chopped for fried rice

Eggs – it is this is an essential to seal in all the flavours of the fried rice. The secret is to throw it in at the end, mix thoroughly with the fried rice and the flavour is sealed in with extra kick! I learnt this from Ah Ma too, as not all Chinese cook does it, but I believe most of it does.

Meat (making the fried rice tastier)

Meat gives fried rice its sweetness and the full flavour of it. Though not necessary, but with it, your fried rice would be more kingly tasty and of course, the needed protein. Usually one kind of meat is use, in order to maintain its simplicity and not to complicate the flavours too much.

Chicken – boneless chicken are usually sliced and dice into small bite sizes to be used in fried rice. This is the most common meat next to pork.

Pork – a Chinese favourite red meat, really sweet and juicy and totally gives the fried rice a distinct taste. Usually chopped up, or sliced and even roughly minced for some.

Beef – though seldom used but I had ate some in restaurants, something different but nice too.

Prawn – this is actually the secret to a real fried rice fragrance and tastiness. In oppose to what I said, prawn can be added along with any other meat, it is after all seafood, but it serve the same purpose, and definitely do it much better.


Vegetables (personal should haves)

Veggies are good additions to fried rice to add in the nutrition and also making it more complex in tastes, textures and presentation.


Long beans – these veggies pack a good crunch to the fried rice, thus bringing the texture to the whole new layer. It is good for ya and just right with the fried rice.

Carrots – carrots also pack a good crunch to the fried rice. Have it sliced thinly or finely chopped. Not to mention it add good colours to the fried rice. Who doesn’t love orange?

Spring Onions – though I do not always add this in, as I seldom buy it, they come in huge bunch and I just seldom get to finish it. It is usually used for garnishes in dishes, in this case it is a good addition to fried rice, especially good with the brown ones.

Herbs – yes you could add in any herbs you think is right, like fresh Chinese parsley, or basil or even mint. I recently ate J’s mum brown fried rice with mint; it was tasty and refreshing with every bite on the mint.


Sauce (the usual)

Soya sauce – main base for the saltiness in the fired rice. We seldom use salt in this.

Dark soya sauce – to make brown fried rice

Oyster sauce – for the extra kick

Fish sauce – just for taste

Sesame oil – just add a little at the end

Chilli – sauce or sambal or paste, if you want a spicy fried rice

What Blogging Did to Me

It made my day!

I was just going through the “blogs that link here” (you can see it at the bottom of this page on the right) through technorati, yes I am vain and want to see who links me up, and found that I had been linked up by FoodFreak, all the way from German, on his Meme. He had include me in along with a few Asian blogs on the question of a food blog located far from him. Quoted from him was:

“Tham Jiak - a fellow cooking enthusiast in Malaysia, I love to read about his/her Asian food experiences.”

I am so happy that there are people out there who enjoyed my humble writing on food and my experiences.

I have just notice the lacking in my project of “exploring my origins” and of course not to mention all the foodblogging events that I had missed out. I am keeping track (note the top of the side bar) of them but time just seem to slip by for a struggling soon-to-graduate student like me. If you all have notice, I have also added the part of “Weekly Drools” at the side bar, indicating recipes that had picked my interest which I might, just might try out and are good reads.

Food blogs had in many ways changed my perception on food; there are so many new things to learn everyday, so many real people out there that are passionate about the same thing as me, food. After lurking around many wonderful food blogs for months, bookmarking them, trying the recipes and get obsessed over reading them, I finally created my own food blog, a far cry from the bests I know, but yet, just a humble attempt to also share my passion, my thoughts and my experiences. By blogging, I had then begun making good food, experimenting, braving myself to try various recipes, and of course enjoying it. Then there are the snapping of food pictures like they are my precious that are going away too fast (into my tummy) and then writing about it which then leads to the nicest part, that is getting the feedback from the readers. Yes, you all are what blogging is all about.

So stay tune alright to my blog, and do keep coming back. I promise to cook more, eat more and blog more on, what else, FOOD!

Contributing Recipes

A fellow blogger had asked me to join in a wonderful new blog that are for various bloggers/cooks alike to contribute and share their recipes all in one place. The site is call Recipes365, and for sure, with the name literary it means there would be a new recipes everyday or even more throughout the year. I for one am glad to be able to join in the fun and share the recipes that I had tried and tweaked and of course, also to share my experience. So go over there and have a look. I posted up my Chocolate Cheese Cake recipe there, and I’ve just seen a really delectable mushroom soup after my post! So what ya waiting for? Have a look at the site.

CCC Craze

It is always good to be able to dig up my old archive to share with you guys. During the time I started this lovely blog of mine, I was in my term holidays. That was went I did lots of baking and cooking, and sharing it here. Now that time does not allow me to do so, I have continued religiously drooled over many food blogs out there.

So, about digging into my archives, I usually cook, take picture and then store it in a folder in my computer along with the recipe. So far, I just notice this folder getting much larger than other picture folders I have.

There was this local food forum that I joined, named Jo’s Deli Bakery. Then there was once we made a meet up along with fellow Malaysians from the forum Kitchen Capers, that I always talked about. At the party, obviously a food party, everyone is to make something to bring there. Like how we local like to call it potluck. Then a lovely forum member made a wonderful chocolate cheese cake, which got everyone hooked and craving for one. So naturally, we demanded for the recipe and then forth started the phase, we called it, the CCC craze.

If you keep drooling over various chocolate cheesecakes from the same recipe, and keep on hearing people rave about it day in day out in the forum, there is only one natural course of action. Yes, you make one too, not just to answer the craving since the gathering day but also to see what is all the fuss about.

And I have to say, it is all worth the fuss! It is fairly easy to do, and simply delicious. It is hard for me to describe how good, you go try it and you tell me! This might even start a CCC craze in the blogosphere, who knows, as it is really tempting and the result is going to be an expanded waistline with a wide smile.

Alright let us now see what the fuss is all about but be forewarned, it might start you into a phase.

Chocolate Cheese Cake

Making the mixtures was really easy, but layering them was the problem. When I poured in the final chocolate mixture onto the cheese layer, I made mistake by pouring too much in the middle, then end up scrapping it all to the side, which in the end causing the side rim to have too much. Nevertheless, the effect was not bad; I got wave-like layers, which some people thought I did it on purpose.

I also found that I had to take longer baking time than suggested, then later I found out its because I used an 8-inch pan instead of 9. But I will still stick to 8-inch, because the height of the cake is just nice with the layers clearly shown, and of course, it means bigger portion in every slice. You won’t regret it.

Mixture A:
250g cream cheese
60g castor sugar
1 egg

Beat cream cheese with sugar until light and fluffy
Beat in egg until well incorporated
Set mixture aside

Mixture B:
180g butter
150g sugar
3 eggs
3 tbsp cocoa
120g flour
1 tsp baking powder
Pinch of salt

Beat butter and sugar together until light and fluffy
Beat in egg, one at a time until well incorporated into mixture
Sieve all the dried ingredients together
Fold it into the egg mixture

To assemble:
With an 8-inch cake pan, pour in half of mixture ‘B’, then all of mixture ‘A’, then remaining mixture ‘B’
Bake in preheat oven at 180C for 55-60 minutes (45-50 minutes for 9-inch pan) or until skewer comes out clean
Serve well chilled

Now and Before

Now:
Not much cooking nowadays but all workload is starting to lessen. My final year project is soon to be over and then I can concentrate on my finals. Then it is off to the work force for me. Seem really daunting yet exciting. All said I am ready to take on the challenge and start a new journey in my life. We all have to learn to adapt to changes and make the best of it. I am glad I have learned to do so. What bout you?

Before:

Anyway, I just remembered this recipe I attempted ages ago (few months) that I have yet to share with you guys. It is from an issue of Flavours, a local food magazine which I am an avid fan of. I came across a simple yet intriguing recipe called Pongteh. This dish is from Peranakan origin, which we called Baba and Nonya. I had wrote bout them before. A glance at the recipe and it got me thinking of it day and night, so I had to put it to an end. I made it.

Pongteh (Chicken Stew with Preserved Soy Bean Paste)

This recipe uses ingredients readily available in most households. Chinese households if not. I’m not sure whether many would have the preserved bean paste, which is actually a thick, salty fermented soybean paste. I believe one can get in any asian market easily. Here, it is a must in this dish as it holds the base flavour of it. Gula melaka is actually unprocessed raw palm sugar, easily available in Malaysia. As the name stated, it is originated from Melaka, home of the Peranakans.

As usual, I had left out ingredients to suit my taste (or my pantry) and tweaked the recipe a wee little bit. In the original recipe, one can add belly pork and also shitake mushrooms and yam bean. In the recipe, it calls for first boiling the sauce with the mushroom for 20 minutes. Once again, I took the shortcut, and since I did not use Chinese mushrooms anyway, I only bring it to boil, cut down added water and cooked to a much shorter time.

The recipe noted that it will taste better the next day after the flavors had a chance to infuse into the meat. I for one am not going to compromise this. The overnight dish was great with the meat deeply infused in the taste, which comprises mainly of the bean paste. To me the taste is unique and it is an overall fairly easy recipe. Do try it!

5 chicken drumsticks
3 tbsp cooking oil

Grind to paste:
4 red onions
5 shallots
6 cloves of garlic

2 tbsp preserved bean paste (tau cheo)
600ml water
5 potatoes (cubed)

40g gula Melaka (palm sugar), or to taste
1 tsp of salt

Heat oil and sauté the onion, shallot and garlic paste till fragrant, stirring continuously.
Then add in the bean paste and fry till oil separates. (This did not really happen to mind as I had lowered the oil content considerably)
Add water and bring to boil.
Lower in the chicken and simmer for bout 15 minutes.
Add in the cubed potatoes.
Continue to cook for another 30 minutes or till chicken is tender and potatoes are soft.
Add water if gravy becomes too thick.
Season to taste with sugar and salt

Added: A fellow reader asked me about what tau cheo to make sure she got the right ingredient, so here it is:

1984

Since I had ventured into my culinary skills, I had been enjoying making a lot of food, baking and cooking. It is therapeutic in some way to me. I love it especially when I can make food for my loved ones to enjoy. I love the feeling that I felt when I see them enjoying what I had made. I love it even more when they appreciate it; they pat me on the back and praise me (although it might not have been that good). It is just the sense of euphoria, exaggerate I might seem, but I’m not.

Therefore, I came up with an ingenious plan to extend out my love to my dearest oldest longest group of friends that I have. I made a pact to bake each of them a cake for their birthday this year. It might seem like nothing, but the fact that my group of friends consists of 10 people and of high tastes I might say, seem pretty daunting. But nevertheless, it will certainly be a joy to me to make and customize a special and unique cake for each of them.

We called ourselves the 1984, which is the year we were born in. The name was stuck with us since high school and it never seems to fade away. We always say 1984 this, 1984 that, 1984 always, 1984 spirit and 1984 bond, you get the idea. They had been with me through thick and thin since 8 years ago, some even longer, and the stories about them could fill a book, a thick one for that matter. I would write about them if ever I have the time.

Well a friend S just had her birthday in January during Chinese New Year. The time was packed but I managed to make a cake for her, at my nanny’s place. I’ve been lucky to have her kitchen to use, as my Taiping house’s kitchen is such a sad place, you could not even find salt there! Cooking at my nanny had been really eye opening, more about that next time.

I had asked S before hand what type of cake she would want and her reply was really creative and challenging, she said “Colorful”. Wow, a great theme, it got me thinking. I consulted some of the other 1984s, and a friend inspired me. Finally, I made a simple chocolate cake with dark gooey chocolate frosting; and where are the colors you might ask? Well, take a look!

Little Hong Kong

Life has been the same. Now nearing my final year project subsmission, life just turn a lot more hectic. As usual, L came again, with more wonderful fare from up north Malaysia. This time is another Hong Kong wannabe bistro in Malaysia, which I had talked about and also cooked the famous cheese baked rice before. This kind of bistro is all over PJ and KL, now it is in Penang too. Talk about little Hong Kong in Malaysia!

Hongkie Kopitiam

E-Gate is one of my all time favorite spots in Penang. Located just right off the bridge, just next to Tesco, it is a brand new plaza with restaurants, a fitness center, a hair saloon and a few pubs and a pretty huge Starbucks. Bored with regularly eating ‘tar-pau’ed (take away) food for meals, my friend suggested that we try a brand new Hong Kong styled restaurant in E-Gate.

Hongkie Kopitiam has a very olden day Chinese restaurant ambience. Interior are mostly made of wood, including tables and chairs. Well it seems pretty congested to me as the furniture are placed within close proximity and the restaurant was almost full when I was there, perhaps it was regular dinner time.

It has a very extensive menu with rather interesting names for its food and I took almost 10 minutes to decide on my order. My friend was there for the second time said that the French toast was really good. We ordered that, along with a bowl of Fuku Leslie Cheung for her, which is ramen with one fried egg, sausage, ham and vegetables while I opted for meal with a quirky name, Zoo Pharms, baked fragrance rice with cheese and a triple combination of fish fillet, beef and chicken.

The meals we both ordered are very typical Hong Kong meals. Her bowl of ramen consists of a sunny side up, deep fried ham and sausage, garnished with vegetables. The soup was pretty salty but the portion came big. While my baked rice came with a generous serving of melted cheese with the triple combination of beef, fish fillet and chicken were nicely cooked and tender. It was good but somehow, eating too much cheese made me feel bloated. I could not even finish the serving.

The French toast was superb. It was greasy due to the melted butter that came a top of the toasted bread, but the sweet and thick peanut butter in between the loafs was fabulous. Of course, you got to eat it while it’s hot.

I ordered an almond tea with egg custard for my drink. I’m not sure why I kept expecting the infamous chilled ‘lai cha’ (milk tea) usually served in HK restaurants. Turns out, it came in a saucer, in scalding hot almond tea and a raw egg which I guess, was put in moments before it was served to me. It would at any other time, be a great cuppa for breakfast. However, after eating my baked cheese rice with awful lot of meat, I figure, that cup of sinfully sweet almond tea is just too much for me.

Perhaps, this isn’t exactly a rave review but remember I said it had an extensive menu, I’m sure, with more time in the future, and I would get to try better stuff of it.

Hongkie Kopitiam
Block 1-01-10
Lebuh Tunku Kudin 2
11700 Gelugor
Penang

From USA with Love

Finally I am posting up about my package of BBM4. It was really really sweet and lovely, from Rorie, at Milk & Honey. It was flown here all the way from USA.

The whole idea of the package was full with love, also in conjunction with the Valentine. The only thing is I collected the package late, I am so sorry Rorie. The package apparently came much earlier, but I was not in. Then they left a card, asking me to go and collect it at a post office I am not familiar with. The lateness is due to my house people, and my bad habit to only check the mail once in a blue moon for bills. So when I saw the card, it was about a week late, then I got hung up with work and finally got it last week.

On to the package, no more excuses on my side. The package came packed with fabulous stuff. Look at it!

I mean look at it! Looks good isn't it? From the front left, it is a packet of Mexican Spiced Chocolate, and it is just right! I always wondered how Mexican chocolate would taste like, and this is even spiced. No I haven’t try it yet, still admiring it. the white packet beside it is another chocloatey drink, which is Green Chile Cinnamon Hot Chocolate Mix. Sounds really interesting! Then next is a packet of Montmorency Cherries. This one, shamefuly, I have snacked finish it. wanted to make oatmeal cookies with it, as Rorie had suggested, but this tart cherries is simply irresistible. One pop and I am hooked. Then it is a packet unsalted dry toasted Slivered Almonds. Yummy! Just my favourite kind of nuts.

Up the top is the Ghirardelli semi-sweet chocolate baking chips! I can imagine all the lovely thing I can bake from this. Just can’t wait to have the time again to make my favourite desserts. Then there is also Scharffen Berger Mocha bar (dark chocolate with freshly roasted coffee)! I loved dark chocolate, who doesn’t? Next came two bottle of spices, one vanilla beans (finally I got it!) and another is cinnamon sticks.

Other lovely non-food goodies is, you can see a vintage heart cookie cutter (somehow I suspect Rorie knows me inside out, I have all the while been searching for a heart shape cutter, to make lovely goodies for J), then a sweet looking silicon pot holder, a valentine’s photo frame (with magnet, now my refrigerator), vintage dish towel, you can see all the one below all the goodies and a well compiled love songs. Oh, and with a personalized card too!

Thanks Rorie for all the goodies! I can’t wait to try all of the yummy stuff out and do some baking and cooking with it.

Malaysian National Dish?

L came again and saved this blog of mine from mediocrity. I always longed to cook, experiment and blog again but I guess time is not on my side. Besides, food for the week had practically been ‘ta-pau’ed (packed) from my cousin’s housewarming since Sunday. (Yes, we packed a huge amount of leftovers). Then there was some little cooking here and there. I made cheese steak and oyster tomato soup for Valentine, but was too tired and did not have the time to take picture. The steak was good; I planned to do it again one day and then blog about it.

Well, as for now, enjoy another round of L’s eating adventure about a very popular dish, char kuey teow (stir-fried flat noodles), which is known to be the best in Penang, hers is a lightly revamped version being a wet one. Sounds kinky eh?

Sany Café

The debate raged on which food we should proudly proclaim as the Malaysian national food. The nominees had been roti canai, nasi lemak and char kuey teow. All three nominees are distinctively Malaysian, each one originated from the three main races in Malaysia, with roti canai an identity to the Indians, nasi lemak, an original Malay cooking and the hot from the wok, char kuey teow of the Chinese. What truly make these food truly Malaysian is that it is consumed by all races and that recipes had assimilated among the people here, sometimes giving a new breath into the menu altogether.

Sany Café, located in Jalan Sungai Dua, right opposite USM is a popular restaurant among students here. Everyone seems to only come here for the char kuey teow or more popularly known as ‘Kuey Teow Basah (wet)’. I was introduced to it late last year when my friends and I went there for supper. I though the dish was like any other kuey teow served in soup, but I was surprised to find out, it is actually char kuey teow served with a lot of gravy.

I was since hooked and always went back for more. Patrons may need to order the large one as the regular one is always too little to satisfy your taste buds and what more, after a long day of classes, you would need more of this delicious dish.

Kuey teow basah is pretty much like the usual Chinese char kuey teow which is usually fried with eggs, bean sprouts, cockles and prawns. The crucial difference is that, like its name, it is served soaking wet with its gravy. People told me, that what makes it so sinfully delicious is that instead of using plain water for its gravy, the cook uses the water that the prawn comes soaked in. It does sound unhygienic, but hey, that’s perhaps the whole selling point of kuey teow basah.

Being Malaysian is truly a blessing. Because when cultures assimilate, the food just always turns out better.

Sany Café
Jalan Sungai Dua,
(Opposite USM)
11700, Gelugor
Penang

Char Kuey Teow (Stir-fried flat noodles)

I noticed I had not been sharing enough recipes nowadays, and so I thought of putting a char kuey teow recipe up, which I always wanted to try but have yet to. Take note that this is the usual dry version, unlike the one L had reviewd. This is from Gina, founder of Kitchen Capers, and I’m sure, since it’s from her, it is going to turn out well and be really delicious. By the way, I heard that the real secret to a tasty plate of char kuey teow is by using lard oil and adding pork lard. It lends a delicious crunch and a distinct taste! I will try it once I have the time. In the meantime, if you did, let me know alright?

Ingredients:
1 kg kuey teow (white, flat noodles)
300 g bean sprouts
200 g tiger prawns
200 g chicken fillet (parboiled in hot water, shredded)
2 stalks of spring onions, chopped (white part only)

2 tbsp Sweet Black Sauce
1 tbsp Fish sauce (or Light Soya Sauce)
1 tbsp Dark Soya sauce

5 tbsp corn oil
1 tsp chopped garlic
200 g fresh cockles (optional, if unavailable in your country)

Method:
In a wok, heat 1 tbsp corn oil and add garlic to stir fry.
Mix all the sauces together.
Add to the noodles and stir well to mix.
Add remaining 4 tbsp of corn oil to stir.
Add prawns and chicken, bean sprouts.
Add 20 ml water and spring onions. Stir to mix.
Lastly, add fresh cockles and briefly stir for about 2 mins.
Turn off fire.

Serve hot to 4-6 people

Hong Kong Food Still in Exposure

It continues...

Next into the street food, the highlight was the chow tau fu (stinky tofu!) well, I tried it! From far you can smell a distinct unpleasant smell where first thing that comes to your mind is a huge smelly drain. But as you go nearer to the frying place you'll be tempted to buy and try one.

Well it does stinks before you put it into your mouth but with a little grimace you'll be able to do it and once you bite into it, you'll find it juicy and a little bit sour (from the fermentation I guess), after all its suppose to be 'spoilt', which meant so literary in Cantonese "chow", which ironically also can be meant by "smelly". Well, all said in one word, it is spoilt and smelly but yet...still delicious. Warning though, it does left a weird after taste in your mouth and you wouldn't want to go talking to anyone near for that matter!

Then there was the special or chien (fried oyster with eggs) which is entirely different from Malaysia version. This one is ultra-crispy with the eggs all fluff up with extra crunchy batter plus with generous amounts of oysters. The ones in Malaysia are usually flatter ones. But somehow, at the end of the meal, one can feel "jelak" (sick) of its richness and also partly because it is pretty oil laden. Anyhow, a must try in one of the stalls in miu kai.

Well, you guys must be thinking, where is the dim sum!?! That’s what Hong Kong is famous for! Well, of course I do have loads of dim sum picture, I had it 3 times for breakfast and once for lunch! Imagine that!

My favorite of the lot is siu long pau (Shanghai dumpling) that is soupy inside with fresh meat and really goood to bite...I missed it so much!

Here's the juice oozing...mmmm

Next is the Shanghai beef pau which is sweet meat in a crusty bread. Shanghai has the best dim sum I guess and they can't seem to have enough of beef.

My friends and I so wanted to try the lor mai kai (steamed glutinous rice with chicken) and see the difference from the ones in Malaysia. Well it is certainly different, in fact it wasn't even called lor mai kai, I forgot what's it called but we sure had a hard time describing to the poor waitress for it! LOL

I heard that the spring rolls is a must try but to me, it is just so-so, I prefer the ones in Malaysia.

This is a char siew pau (pork meat bun), which I’m not sure what version it is but it sure is good. The bun is soft and fluffy, with honey glazed on top with the extra kick of juicy sweet and salty pork filling...yummy. It is certainly a variant from the usual steamed pau as this one is baked.

Here’s an array of one of the dim sum breakfast I had in a different restaurant. Notable ones here are the fried mango in the middle which is crunchy and sweet, really special and the package type of bean curd with filling inside which is really different and good. Sigh, I miss my dim sum fix in Hong Kong!

There’s this which I think is considered a dim sum dish too, which is called char leong, which is actually yau char guai wrapped with cheong fun! Really special combination but tasty nonetheless! Crunchy coupled with the smooth cheong fun...something that delights the palate indeed.

Oh, look at this grilled chicken salad...

Yummy looking eh? Guess what? It is from McDonalds! The McD over there has a whole set of fresh menu where you can choose a range of salads and also flatbread with fresh meat and vegetables for more filling ones. Here’s a favourite flatbread among us, the Korean beef flatbread

Last but not least, is this lovely tong sui (sweet dessert) that we had in one of the little shop in a corner street of Kowloon, which is actually black sesame dessert. Look how thick it is!

That’s all for how three girls from Malaysia eat their way through Hong Kong in 1 week. Hope you all enjoyed it as much as we did!

Hong Kong Food Exposed

I am having work up to my neck these few weeks. Today I had just nailed a presentation and a test in my university. In less than two weeks, my final year project is due for testing and my part is still half way there. I hope this is a good enough reason for my missing in action.

So I am taking this opportunity to post up food pictures that I had took from my last year travel to Hong Kong. Yea, I know that seems like ages ago but yet, I am still thinking of it, salivating about it and still hankering to go back for me.

I had posted up about it before in KC, which was more lightly written, thus I just replicate what I had reviewed after the trip:

The Long Ago Post: Hong Kong Food Exposed

I had a trip to Hong Kong late last month. As we all know, Hong Kong is said to be a food paradise. Well, I CONFIRMED it. Everything I eat had at least a certain degree of standard. So I’m here to share pictures of some of the food that I found really good and hit right on the Hong Kong spirit!

I had tried char siew fan twice, once in Hong Kong island another in either Jordan/Tsim Tsa Tsui (these are the two connecting area in Kowloon, the mainland of Hong Kong) and I certainly loved the one in Kowloon much better. The meat was huge, juicy and tender and still crispy on the outside. The sauce is marvelously sweet and goes right well with its soft and fluffy rice. DELISH! I’m missing it already....

As for another main meal, we (my friends and I) had adventurously tried out the mixed beef mee (which consists of parts of the cow which I prefer not to know so much in detail). Nevertheless, I had a friend who was fond of eating all sorts of pig parts to test these ones out first and then rate it for us to try.

As you can see, the hive look thing (which I later found out is the stomach) is surprisingly crunchy and tasty as it had soaked up whatever soup it was boiled in. Then another part was also crunchy and not too much of distinct taste. But the black part (which we presume is the liver) had a red light from my friend who managed only to choke it down.

Another main meal we had was the infamous yu tan fan (fish ball mee) which is just as its name, fishballs and mee. The different this is from Malaysia is the fishball itself! It is fresh and springy and of course with no fishy smell (seng mei) which causes me to avoid fishballs all the time and you can surely taste the authenticity of the fish in it. This dish is pretty bland compare to other rich tastes of food. Still a must try if you're in Hong Kong, for the fishballs’ sake.

We also had seafood one of the nights in Miu Kai (Temple Street). All the seafood here are really fresh with the seafood still alive and only made to order. I went over to the counter, bombarded with endless choices of moving creatures, I just simply pointed out two unfamiliar seafood (I was guessing I can't get these in Malaysia) and ask them the best way to cook it. They recommended both hot but then I chose one to be just boiled fresh.

One of the dinner we also had jok (porridge) with yau char guai (fried twisted bread). This is one of the simplest dish that I believed originated from here. Both of it just complements well with each other, the crunchy yau char guai with the soft gooey porridge that coats it so well. YUM!

As for breakfasts, we had wan tan mee, where the wan tan are totally different than those in Malaysia. It is gigantic, with generous filling of meat and a huge prawn in every piece. It is tender and juicy and besides, the mee is thin and obviously home made material compare to those I found in Malaysia (except the ones in Taiping which is thick but still home made).

We also had ngau lam min (beef mee). Unlike the ones in Malaysia, this one is with clear soup but distinct taste of beef. The slices of beef are soft yet chewy and juicy!

Of course breakfast in Hong Kong is not complete without trying out the set breakfast style in its own Hong Kong "fast food" version. It come with variety of choices where you can mix and match and it includes the infamous drink of lai cha (milk tea), yin yong (mixture of milk, coffee and tea) and Milo.

In this set we had opt for American style breakfast, egg, luncheon meat, sausage, toast, oatmeal at the side with yin yong.

Another set we had was the mini dim sum set of mini pau, dumplings and mini springrolls, with meehoon and ham at the side plus lai cha.

I just want to highlight that their lai cha (milk tea) and yin yong is absolutely heavenly, due to its richness of milk taste but still with distinct taste of tea and coffee. I suspect the difference it had from the ones in Malaysia is in the milk itself. It must be fresh!

To be continued....