Little Penang Cafe KLCC, Malaysia

I went back to Malaysia for a short holiday earlier this year. My sister and I visited Little Penang Cafe at KLCC for lunch one day. We went there early to avoid the long queue. This cafe gets very busy at lunchtime as it is frequented by KLCC office staff and visitors alike.

I ordered my favourite flat noodles, char kway teow. This was my first time visiting Little Penang Cafe and I am already thinking that this could be my favourite cafe in KL. They do street style hawker foods and it tasted as good as it gets for a cafe outside of the Penang Island itself.

This is called ABC or ais kacang. It is a basically shaved ice with fruits and syrup, topped with peanuts and drenched in sweet condensed milk. Similar to a Korean bingsoo, of Japanese Kakigori.

This dish is called Ju Huu char. It has shredded cuttlefish, cooked with julienne of vegetables like carrots, jicama (sengkuang), shittake mushrooms and onions and chives. Basically, you would put a small amount on the lettuce leaf provided, add a little chilli and wrap it up to eat. This is Nyonya Malaysian version of lettuce wraps.

Lastly is deep fried Lor Bak. It is traditionally mince pork meat marinated with chinese five spice, wrapped in beancurd sheet and then deep fried like spring rolls. It is normally a finger food or snacks. We ordered the chicken meat variant. 

More info 

Address: Suria Klcc, Suria KLCC, Jalan Ampang, 50088 Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Phone: +60 3-2163 0215

Azuki Matcha Terrine

This recipe is from TasteMade

As I didn't have any heavy cream at home, I had substituted it with coconut cream instead. Let's hope it is not a disaster and I get an interesting flavour with a hint of coconut!

Please head over the TasteMade website on the link above. I love that website as their video presentation is always so easy to understand.

Ingredients

25 grams matcha powder, sifted
200 ml  heavy cream  coconut cream
90 grams white chocolate
30 grams butter
1 egg yolk
1 whole egg
1 tbsp flour, sifted
100 grams prepared sweetened azuki beans  I used can of red bean paste from Asian grocer.

Method

1. Heat heavy cream in a saucepan over low heat until simmering. Turn off the heat. Add the white chocolate and butter to melt. Mix until smooth.
2. Combine flour, matcha powder, whole egg and one egg yolk and mix well.
3. Line a slender pound cake tin with parchment paper. Layer adzuki beans on the bottom, making sure it's nice and flat. Pour in the matcha mixture. Make a water bath and bake for 30 minutes at 150 degrees C. Take out of the oven and let it cool completely. Refrigerate until chilled.
4. Take out of the mold and slice into individual portions. Serve with chipped cream and a sprinkling of matcha powder if desired.

The verdict:

No coconut hint was detected in ref to my using coconut cream instead of heavy cream. It is an extremely rich dessert and this is the one time, I'm actually liking the bitterness of the Matcha because it actually complemented the sweetness of the red bean paste. This dessert is truly outstanding and I don't mean mine, just go make one and you will know what I mean! So yummy!! You should only serve it in one small square as it is very rich and creamy. 

Malaysian Butter Prawns

Malaysian Butter Prawns is one of my favourite local Malaysian seafood dish. You may have already heard of Cereal prawns or Nestum prawns, well it's kind of same same but different! I don't like cereal of any kind! Blergh! But this, I like.. it's very shiok!

I adapted my cooking to the recipe from http://www.smokywok.com/2008/10/malaysian-butter-prawns-recipe.html

The preparation time took the longest as I had to devein the prawns without removing the shell. And I forgot to remove the eyes.. but that's okay, because I don't eat the prawn heads anyway.

Ingredients:

15 head-on prawns, shell on - deveined and remove eyes (whoops! I forgot the eyes!)
A handful of fresh curry leaves
3 tbsps butter
3 egg yolks
3 cloves garlic, minced finely
4-5 bird's eye chilli peppers, seeded and finely chopped
1 tsp salt
Dash of tumeric
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp sugar
Dash of Shaoxing Wine (Chinese Rice Wine)
Dash of white pepper
1 red onion
1 pinch of black pepper

Method:

Firstly, clean and devein prawns. Use kitchen scissors to cut shell to remove veins. Marinate in tumeric, add a pinch of salt and pepper. Coat prawns in rice flour.

Heat enough oil to deep fry the prawns. Fry in the hot oil until shells turn red and looked crunchy. Remove and drain, set aside.

Next, use about 2 tbsps of the oil used earlier in your wok. Briskly fry the garlic, chilli peppers curry leaves and salt until fragrant. Turn heat to medium-low, add the butter.

Next, add the egg yolks, squeezing through a perforated spoon and finally add the prawns that were fried earlier. Add more salt if desired at this point. Stir-around to coat prawns with the butter sauce. Serve hot.

And there you have it, Butter prawns, not for the faint hearted! Seriously yummo!

Taiyaki, fish shaped snacks

I love these Taiyaki snacks, often, you can see these selling like hot cakes in Japan or Korea. There are lots of fillings you can add in  yourTaiyaki, my favourite would be the red bean paste from the azuki beans. You can make the paste yourself or buy a can from your Asian Grocer. Here are some options for taiyaki if you do decide to make some one day.

• Nutella
• Black sesame paste
• Red bean paste
• Peanut butter and jelly ( for the western taste)
• Custard, normal or pandan
• Durian paste
• Sweet potato paste
• Yams

The choices are endless, it's really up to your own individual taste and imagination. Recipe adapted from http://www.justonecookbook.com/taiyaki/

Ingredients:

150 g (about 1¼ cup) cake flour (minus 2Tbsp flour and add 2 Tbsp cornflour)
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 egg, beaten
200 ml (about ¾ cup) milk
3 Tbsp. granulated sugar
100 g azuki red bean paste, I bought a can from asian grocer
1 Tbsp. vegetable oil

Method:

1. Combine the flour and baking soda and mix together with a whisk. Add sugar and mix again. 
2. Form the azuki red bean paste into long thin shapes about the size of your taiyaki mould
3. Beat eggs, add the milk, mix well, then add into the dry ingredients a little at a time and mix gently putting the batter through the gaps of the whisk. Mix the batter gently.
4. Wrap the mixture in cling film and put it in the fridge to rest for 1 hour
5. Grease the taiyaki pan lightly with oil and warm it up. Fill the pan halfway up with batter.
6. Add the sweet red bean paste on top
7. Pour more batter over the top to cover the beans. Close the lid of the pan and cook for 3-5 minutes until golden. They're ready to eat whilst they're still hot.

Taekwondowon, Muju

Our next stop was Taekwondowon at Muju. We left Suwon in the evening to arrive into the night at Muju. Dinner was a simple affair and a quick one, we soon checked into our accommodation at Taekwondowon. My first impression was that, the grounds looks like a University campus, it has building blocks with school halls, dining area, administration office and rooms for boarding students.

We got given our room key and headed straight to bed as it was getting late. The rooms were like a hotel room with private en suite, a large flat screen telly and there was a modem for wifi hotspot. My room has a balcony that opens up to view the mountain behind us.

In the morning, straight after breakfast, we boarded the campus bus to head up to the Observatory for a photo session. The group hiked up to the top. I stayed behind on lower ground. The hike was too steep and taxing on me. I was very disappointed with myself for failing the hike, and that the funicular car was not operating that day. I would have love to get that shot from the stop. Just to give an idea of the place we visited, here is their promotional video from YouTube channel. Hours and operation are on this link http://tkdwon.kr/eng/

We were invited to view the Taekwondo performance after our photo session. It was heart stopping and mesmerizing! It was such an incredible performance. I got a bit teary eyed! I have never experienced such intense pride and happiness till now. I am not Korean, but at that precise moment, I wanted to be one after witnessing such passion and pride in the moving performance. This is an experience not to be missed if you are visiting Korea.

After Muju, we ate an epic Bibimbap lunch in Jeonju. We also stopped in Gwangju, to make our own traditional writing papers and made our own Korean crafts. We continued on to Juknokwon, to the Damyang Bamboo Forest. That place reminds me of Sagano Bamboo Forest in Kyoto. Till my next post, Kimchiiiiiiiiiiii!! Keep smiling!

Steamed Yam cake

A friend made Steamed Yam cake ages ago and posted it on her blog. Since then, I have been thinking about it and missed my own mother's yamcake. I was so happy to find some Taro at the local fruit shop and decided to try making it myself. I am sure it will not taste as good as my mum's. 

I had to substitute a few ingredients. Not the key ingredients, thank goodness, I have most of the ingredients to make the yam cake. I was missing oyster sauce, alkaline water, etc. I found another recipe online and improvise on it as I had to substitute some ingredients. See underlined.

Ingredient

500g yam, peeled and diced

40g dried prawns 

4 dried mushrooms, soaked and sliced 

300g rice flour 

100g corn flour (I used tapioca flour) 

100ml water 

500ml hot chicken stock (I only had beef cube stock at home)

2 tbsp oil 

1 tbsp shallot oil 

1 tbsp fish sauce ( I used Japanese Bonito sachets seasoning instead) 

Some grind black pepper

1/4 tsp five spice powder 

1 tbsp oyster sauce ( I had no oyster sauce, this was omitted) 

1 tsp of sugar ( This was not added )

Seasoning

2 tsp salt 

3 tbsp oyster sauce 

1 tbsp shallot oil 

2 tsp sesame oil 

1 tbsp fish sauce ( I used Japanese Bonito sachets seasoning instead)

A dash of pepper

Garnish

2 stalks of coriander, roughly chopped 

2 red chillis, de-seeded and sliced 

1 tsp of toasted white sesame seeds

Method

1. Dice the yam into 1cm square cubes.

2. Rinse then soak the dried prawns until soft. Keep 80ml of the soaking liquid. 

3. Heat two tablespoons of cooking oil with one tablespoon of shallot oil. 

4. Fry the dried prawns and sliced mushroom. 

5. Add the diced yam, the prawn liquid and 80ml of water. 

6. Season with one tablespoon of fish sauce, a quarter teaspoon of five spice powder, one tablespoon of oyster sauce, one teaspoon of sugar and a dash of pepper. 

7. Cover and fry intermittently for five minutes until the yam is cooked and yields easily when poked with chopstick.

8. Remove from wok and set aside. 

9. Put the rice flour and corn flour in a large metal container. Stir in the water.

10. Add the hot chicken stock and mix well. Add in the seasoning followed by the yam mixture. 

11. Steam for 40 minutes. Garnish with coriander, sliced fresh red chilli and sesame seeds.

The result was amazing, I didn't think it would be successful, given that, I had a few things missing. However, it was rather delicious, it was just amazing as memories of home, flooded into my mind at the taste of the first bite. I must add to, that my chilli sauce was stupendous! Just spectacular, fresh chilies sauce are the best to serve this steamed yamcake with. :)

Thai Mango Sticky Rice Dessert

Thank goodness mangoes are still available this week. I just got this craving for Thai Mango and sticky rice dessert since last week, and decided to make it this weekend. I have had this when I was in Bangkok last year and it was unforgettable. These stalls are everywhere in the streets of Bangkok. Be sure to try them if you haven't tried. It is very yummy.

Things you will need :

2 cups of glutinous rice ( from your Asian grocer or supermarket if they have them) '
1 can of coconut milk or cream
Water to soak rice in and to cook
2 ripe mangoes or more if you like lots of mangoes.
1/4 teaspoon of salt
5 small cubes of palm sugar or brown sugar if you don't have them

Method:

1. Soak glutinous rice in one cup of water overnight
2. Do not drain liquid
3. Add soaked rice and liquid to pot, add in salt, 1 tablespoon of brown sugar or palm sugar
4. Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer.
5. Once coconut has been absorb into rice, turn off heat but let sit.
6. Now, you will need to make the coconut sauce.
7. Put the remainder coconut cream/ milk into a milk pan. Add in the rest of palm sugar, taste test the sweetness. Add more or less as you wish
8. Do not let it boil. Turn off heat
9. Remove skin and cut up mangoes. 
10. Served warmed rice with freshly cut mangoes and pour coconut sauce over it!
11. Yum Yum in my tummy time :) If you are like me, you'd loved the coconut sauce and want to drown the sticky rice in it.. see my last photo :) LOL

Kuih Talam

Decided to make Kuih Talam today just because I have all the ingredients with me for a change :) I did use pandan essence instead of extracts from the real pandan leaves because I couldn't get any fresh pandan leaves here in Wagga. So if it looks radioactive green, please don't judge or better still, send me a pandan tree. Okay thanks in advance :)

I bought this book when I was in Malaysia on my last trip home. I finally got around to reading it and making something out of it today. I am not really sure where all this energy is coming from, I rather be watching Korean drama than blogging or cooking or baking or anything. I can be really lazy sometimes!

So without further ado, no recipes, just photos. You will be able to read the recipe in one of the photo. Happy steaming!

Please note: I mixed and cooked then put mixture into a blender for a smooth consistency.

This is the cover and name of book if you are interested in making Nyonya kuihs, lot of recipes in here.

Making Kimchi

My local Asian store sells Kimchi by the tubs, it's a small margarine container for $5, don't you think that, that's pretty expensive? Or maybe I am just a cheapskate! I bought it once out of desperation when I couldn't get the ingredients. Today, I had found some ingredients and wanted to make some for myself.

It was hard to get the Korean chilli powder. I had wanted genuine Korean chilli powder, not ones from China peppers or anywhere else. Lucky for me, there was a packet staring back at me and it was a whole 1kg bag. Thank You Lord!!

I'm making this Kimchi from a recipe in SBS Foods. I do like this version because the instructions were pretty easy to follow and it came with a video presentation as well. Plus the recipe is from a Korean person ;) so it's all good, sounds pretty authentic! Getting the right ingredients was the tricky part. I am missing Korean watercress, and Daikon (turnip) but that is not going to stop me from making this today.

Here are some of my photos from my Instagram today. I didn't really planned on this post, hence the lack of photos :) only from my IG feeds. Sorry about that. The recipe is on the SBS link above. Please click on the link to their website if you are interested in making these.

Bangkok 2013

My trip to Bangkok was planned and booked earlier this year. I was very excited about returning to the Land of Smiles, the City of Angels. I had visited this place many years ago when I was a cabin crew for Singapore Airlines. I missed my flying days so much, so to go on any overseas trip is a pleasure. I am easily pleased. This place was going to be a walk down memory lane for me. “Gun powder galore! The Land of Chillies was on my mind, it is a foodie paradise, next to Malaysia.”
I couldn't be happier!

Just a few photos via Instagram of what I ate during the course of my stay in Bangkok. More photos on my Flickr account.

Except that a lot has changed. The malls are bigger, the highways are wider, there's a new airport now. It used to be Don Muang Airport in the old days; I believed they still used it. My flight from Sydney took 9 hours 40 minutes and we got in at around 6pm by the time we cleared immigration and customs. This is not including our flight from Wagga up to Sydney.

My son and I went straight to the taxi line and got in the cab to our hotel. I could see that that the traffic is as mad as ever and I was so happy that to see the tuk-tuks zigzagging along on the road in the city. We got to our hotel and checked in; I love the escort service to our room. We were tired after a long day of travelling, we ordered a quick room service dinner and pretty much, was dead to world after our dinner and shower.

The next morning, we started the day with the buffet breakfast. I was refreshed from my sleep and in my element. I sampled all the food. I worked the buffet by the grid. Bit by bit, I managed to eat everything on sight till I was unable to move. Lucky for me, I get a little rest before the mall opens.

The shops over here opened late in the morning, like in most Asian countries and trades until late evening around ten. We were not in a hurry that day. It was just going to be a relaxing day in the malls around MBK, Central World, and Siam Square. The heat was starting to get to me and by late afternoon, I was defeated. This old gal needed her nanna nap, but I soldiered on. The agenda on the first day was to get souvenirs and presents for friends so that we don't forget about them with all the tours, I had in mind and was planning to do.

On our second day, we took the nearest sky train closest to our hotel, from National Stadium to Saphan Taksin and from there we took a ferry to Grand Palace and Emerald Buddha Temple. The BTS sky train was very efficient and quick way to get around Bangkok. I was apprehensive at first, but the Thais are very friendly and hospitable. It is really easy to take the sky train. I told them where I want to get to, the hotel concierge had given me a map and directions earlier, and the Info desk gave me some tokens in exchange for 30 Thai baht each for our train ride. That’s like $2 Australian dollars for both. It’s the best way to see Bangkok.

Map of BTS http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Bangkok-transit-map.svg

The ferry ride was even better. It’s fun and exciting with disco music blasting loudly with tourists and locals riding along. It the scenic route as you can see a number of Wats aka temples along the Chao Phraya River including Wat Arun.

I love the Emerald Buddha Temple. You’re not allowed to take photos of the Emerald Buddha. However, if you click on this link, you will be able to see the Emerald Buddha; it certainly is beautiful with its fine gold clothing. The Emerald Buddha is actually made of Jade, not the Emerald gem. I was told that Emerald was just the term Thais used to describe the colour green.

Emerald Buddha http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emerald_buddha

The Grand Palace is certainly very grand and majestic. It is made of several buildings on site with gardens, public building, museum and temple. The Royal family does not reside there any more but I am told that many official functions are still held there. It remains one of the most popular tourist attractions.

The line to the ticket booth was already long despite being early in the morning. If we had come later, the heat would have been unbearable. Thailand is extremely hot and we rested under the shades of trees several times to escape the heat and crowds.

On the third day of our trip, I woke up with sore throat and decided to have an easy day; so we went to Jim Thompson’s house and did a tour there. His house is more like a museum, no one lives there any more. The house was built in an old Thai structure, we were told, there were no nails used to build the house. We were not allowed to take any photos once inside the house but were allowed to take photos of the exterior and gardens.

I was transfixed and mesmerised by its gardens. I think that this is now my favourite place in Bangkok. It’s green, it’s cooling and I love the Koi fishes in the garden pond. Despite the coming and goings of tourists in the place, it was still very serene and calming in gardens. I love the garden and wished the place was mine. I am happiest in a garden!

It was nice to sit in the bar after the tour, watching the Kois swimming freely in the man-made pond. The drinks were cold and refreshing. My sore throat was starting to annoy me.

We took a tuk tuk to Central World and had lunch there. Then we went to the Aquarium in Siam Paragon for the boy. He loves aquariums and it was a nice relaxing afternoon for me. It was cool in the mall and there were not too many crowds there. It wasn't school holidays and the place was not busy. It was nice to escape the heat, to sit down and just stare at sharks and rays all day. I do love the malls in Bangkok, so clean and spacious with beautiful designs.

It all went downhill after the third day, I had gotten sick and came down with some big gal blouse flu, which was much worse than the man flu! I was in tears! We hadn't gone to the Crocodile Farm yet, or the Floating Market or the weekend markets. I was cursing the Gods by then. Why oh why? I had to stay in bed for the rest of my holiday. I called the Hotel's on-call doctor and I was miserable as anything. No chillies, no cold drinks, no fried foods. It was terrible. I was heartbroken!

I promised that I will return to Bangkok again in future when the airfare are on specials again. Until then...