Merchant's Lane

Somewhere in  Chinatown Kuala Lumpur, we found the little green teal door which leads upstairs to one of the hippest cafe in town. If you blinked, you would have missed the teal green door. It is sandwiched between shops. My sis and I ventured upstairs and found the quaint little cafe which serves a little of western and Asian fusion dishes.

At first glance, one would think this hipster's cafe is in Cambodia. There is a tree with sprawling roots in the middle of the cafe. I love it. (I wished there is a tree in the middle of my house!)

As we were still full from breakfast, we decided to just order drinks and nibbles. Then I spotted the words, Pandan and Kaya in the same sentence ...oh my Lord... this is a must order!

The "Better than Sex" pandan crepe with kaya toast ice cream was delicious and we enjoyed Pipit's Nest which is the plate of fried onions rings, chicken tenders and brinjal with cheese and mayo sauce.

Merchant Lane can be found at

Merchant's Lane 美真林

No, 150 Jalan Petaling, 59000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

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. 

Coconut Ice Cream

Homemade Coconut Icecream with Pandan Pancakes. Here is the recipe for a non cooked coconut icecream. Pancakes are just your basic buttermilk pancakes with pandan extracts for flavouring. The dressing is thick gula melaka aka cooked palm sugar syrup. It is commonly used in most Asian desserts.

Ingredients
2-3 cans of coconut milk
300 ml of full heavy cream - I added this for smoothness and creaminess
1 very tiny pinch of sea salt (optional)
1 1/2 cup of caster sugar
1 tablespoon of natural coconut essence (non alcohol) REMEMBER: Alcohol will not freeze!
**You can add any non alcoholic essence flavouring you like ** ie if you use rum and pineapple, it becomes a pina colada icecream!

Method
1. Mix in Blender till smooth then transfer to churn in ice cream maker for best result.
2. If you don't have one, pour into container and put in freezer, then every hour, remove and whisk and put back in freezer. The idea is to put air into it, to make it light, less dense and repeat as required.
3. Eat your icecream smile emoticon Note: it can be served, with all kinds of toppings or desserts. I'm saving mine for pandan pancakes!

The Bended Elbow

Today we bid farewell to the artist formerly known as Boo Radley, who is moving to Melbourne for a new job and to be with his gal. Lunch was held at The Bended Elbow bistro pub in Albury downtown. This place is a pub with an amazing beer garden on the top floor. I was in love!! This is what I dream for my backyard to be. There were plants everywhere. 

As with any pub lunches, we ordered and paid at the counter and the wait staff brings out our food to the table when it's ready. The menu was varied, catering to appetites big or small. You can have a steak if you are famished or some appetisers like sliders which will tie you over till dinner time, if you are not hungry.

I had the Cajun Chicken Salad, it was a very simple and basic salad with the smallest amout of mango that I almost cried! It took me all week to decide what to have and I chose that because I wanted some mango salad with my chicken. You can't really call that a salad! It's more like a garnish!

Am I right?

My friends had the pork belly, chicken parmagiana, steaks , the usual standard of pub meals. Golly gosh, a lot of my meal choices lately had been a hit and miss. This upcoming Xmas luncheon had better be good. I am so sick of mediocre! (Our last outing at The Beer Deluxe was the same, dissapointing.) This place was definitely a step up from there. At least, The Bended Elbow had a gorgeous beer garden and the wait service was good. No meals were late or missed. 

I wonder if there are ninety nine beer bottles up there???

Apple Rosette

The rain brought some relief this weekend after the unusual hot Spring week. Err, so guess what I did on the first cool day that we had this Spring? I had decided to bake.

I had a free weekend and so I thought that I might bake something. I had watched this video on Tips Hero and wanted to give the recipe a try. So basically, it's an apple rosette, slices of cooked apples rolled in pastry to look like roses. It was so pretty!

Watch the video. http://tiphero.com/baked-apple-roses/

I made more than six roses and I mixed up some spiced brown sugar instead of fruit preserves for fillings. So, here is the recipe from the link.

Ingredients:

Here’s what you need to make 6 of your own roses:

-4 apples, cored and halved (leave the skin on)
-Juice from 1/2 lemon
-3 Tbsp fruit preserves ( I used apricot but you can use your favorite fruit)
-2 Tbsp water (plus more for apple soak)
-1 sheet of puff pastry
-Cinnamon, to taste

Instructions:

– Preheat Oven to 375 degrees

– Put apple slices in microwave safe bowl. Fill bowl with water and juice from half a lemon. Use enough water to make sure apple slices are covered by water. Microwave for 3 minutes. This will soften the apple slices and make them more pliable for rolling up.

– Next grab a sheet of puff pastry. Flour your board and roll out the puff pastry enough to make 6 strips at 3 inches wide. I scored and cut mine with a pizza wheel put you can use a knife.

– In a bowl mix your favorite fruit preserves with a couple tablespoons of water. Then spoon out the preserves in the center of the strip of puff pastry.

– Next place the apple slices long ways halfway on the strip. Keep adding slices until you reach the end. Then fold the puff pastry over the bottom of the apple slices.

– Roll up the puff pastry and place in a greased muffin tin.

– Bake the apple roses for 35-45 minutes.

– Pull out of oven and let cool for 5 minutes.

Cherry Blossom Macarons

Hi there all, it's spring time in Australia and I can't helped but be inspired to make some Cherry Blossom Macarons. I have been wanting to make these for quite some time, ever since I got hold of a cherry blossom flavouring last year. Now with the cherry blossoms in bloom, it's the perfect time to do this blogpost.

Now this recipe is a basic French Macaron recipe which I had learned from a Macaron making class. You can adapt this recipe to any flavours and colouring to suit you by flavouring the ganache and as for the shells, you can use any colouring. Do try to use gel or powdered colours as liquid colouring will change the texture of your shell.

One of the secret to a successful macaron making is, that you have to aged the egg whites. This means that you store your eggs whites up to a week in the fridge to liquify it, the breaking down of the albumen does makes a difference, to a pass or fail. :)

Ingredients:

120g liquified egg whites
125g Almond meal
210g pure icing sugar (NOT Icing Mix)
90g caster sugar

1. Pulse gently in a blender, mix icing sugar and almond meal till smooth, do not let it get hot.
2. Then sift. Set aside
3. Beat egg whites to a soft peak then add caster sugar till dissolved
4. Fold thru almond meal mix with meringue
5. Now pipe to a round shape button and tap tray to ensure no air bubbles trap inside.
6. Let it sit for 40 minutes to form skin. 
7. Bake at 130 degrees for about 15 minutes, check your oven, don't bake them too hot, adjust accordingly.

For the purpose of this post, my fillings will be a cherry flavoured ganache

Fillings:

1. Place the white chocolate in a medium bowl. 
2. Bring the cream to a boil over medium-high heat in a small saucepan and pour it over the chocolate. 
3. Allow the mixture to rest for about two minutes, then stir until the mixture is smooth and the white chocolate is completely melted. 
4. Allow to cool for about five minutes, then add a few drops of cherry blossom essence. Cover the bowl with foil and refrigerate it until the mixture thickens.

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.

Pecan Pie

Who doesn't love Pecan Pies? It's warm and nutty and sweet with a vanilla scent, you can serve with a dollop of cream or icecream!

Oh Lordy! I am nuts about nuts. I love them all. I spotted some pastry base in my last supermarket outing and bought one. Oh well, it will be super quick baking then. I have always wanted to try my hand at pecan pie. So I googled some recipes, and found this Pecan Pie filling recipe from Taste.com.au, easy to understand and follow.

50g unsalted butter, chopped 
150g (2/3 cup firmly packed) brown sugar 
160ml (2/3 cup) golden syrup 
3 eggs, lightly beaten 
1 teaspoon vanilla extract 
240g (2 cups) pecan halves 
Whipped cream, to serve 

Shortcrust pastry 
200g (1 1/3 cups) plain flour 
Pinch of salt 
125g chilled unsalted butter, chopped 
1 egg, lightly beaten

1. To make pastry, combine flour and salt in a large bowl. Add butter and, using your fingers, rub into flour mixture until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Make a well in centre of flour mixture. Combine egg and 1 tablespoon iced water in a small bowl, then pour into well. Using a round-bladed knife, stir until mixture forms a dough. 
2. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and shape into a 2.5cm-thick disc. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes. 
3. Preheat oven to 200C. Place dough on a lightly floured work surface and roll out to a 30cm diameter disc. Line pan with dough, then trim and discard excess. Refrigerate for 15 minutes. 
4. Line pastry with baking paper, fill with dried beans or pastry weights and bake for 20 minutes or until light golden. Remove beans and paper. Reduce oven to 175C. 
5. Meanwhile, to make the filling, place butter, sugar and golden syrup in a small saucepan over low–medium heat and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until butter melts and mixture is smooth. Remove from heat and set aside to cool slightly. Add eggs and vanilla, and whisk to combine. Scatter pecans over pastry base and pour over golden syrup mixture. Place on an oven tray and bake for 35 minutes or until filling is browned and firm to the touch. Cool in pan to room temperature. 6. Cut pie into wedges and serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice-cream. 

So anyway, back to pecan pie. It is so easy and fast to make with a cheat base. I am sure it will cost must less too. They are too dear to buy, a slice at the work canteen. So I decided that I was going to learn how to make one. I did cheat with a store bought base, so I figure that would would cut down my time immensely. I was feeling a little lazy after a day of making macarons yesterday.

So now, time to relax over a slice of pecan pie and coffee, with some korean drama catch ups!

Choc Cherry Cheesecake

Summer is upon us and there are an abundance of cherries everywhere you go. I bought some from the local cherryman on the way back from work last week. He was parked next to the servo and I knew I just had to stop. All I could think of when I saw the cherries was, "Should I make a choc cherry galette or a choc cherry cheesecake ?"

The cheesecake won, when I bought some Philly cream cheese blocks, which were on specials during my xmas grocery shopping.

This recipe is from http://www.taste.com.au
Ingredient

• 250g biscuits crumbs (I am using my baked Gingerbread men cookies for crumbs for the Xmas theme)
• 125g butter, melted
• 500g cream cheese, softened
• 3/4 cup caster sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 tablespoons cocoa powder, sifted
• 300g sour cream
• 300g cherries, pitted, halved
• cherries and icing sugar, to serve

Method

1. Preheat oven to 160°C/140°C fan-forced. Grease a 5.5cm-deep, 24cm (base) springform pan. Process biscuits until mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add butter. Process to combine. Press mixture over base ofprepared pan. Cover. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

2. Using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating to combine. Beat in cocoa and sour cream until just combined. Fold in cherries. Spread over biscuit mixture.

3. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until centre is just firm. Turn off oven. Cool in oven for 3 hours with door slightly ajar. Refrigerate overnight. Top with cherries. Dust with icing sugar and serve. If you are feeling creative, you can make chocolate curls and laced the top with it for cherries to sit on. I was too lazy, even to break open a pack of Chocolate Flakes. Just trying to keep in simple and fast.

Note: I put mine in a water bath to bake in the oven, to prevent cracking in the middle. Just a tip I picked up from the net. A water bath is when you cover the bottom of cake pan and then sit the cake pan on hot water while baking. See my last photo below. As it turned out , my cheesecake only had a small crack in the middle. Almost perfect!

Before 

After