mentaiko love

I happened to have 100 grams of bacon bits, a handful of spaghetti and some delightful mentaiko. Naturally, it's bacon mentaiko spaghetti for dinner!


That's a failed poached egg on top, if anyone is curious.

Mentaiko is the marinated roe of pollock and is commonly used in Japanese cuisine. It's salty, a little spicy and tastes kinda seafood-ish. The flavour can be quite robust, so a little goes a long way. Here's another picture.



I still have 2 sacs of mentaiko in the freezer, so maybe mentaiko toast with... pumpkin soup tomorrow?

my anchovy pasta

Ever since my acquaintance with Greyhound Cafe's Thai Anchovy Spaghetti some 2 years ago, I've been meaning to re-create it in my kitchen. Of course, procrastination got the better of me. However, since I've got so much time on my hands now (and I'm hungry and the household chef is out), I will now make this for lunch!

First, a little introduction to anchovy. From BigOven.com,

"Anchovies are very small, silver fish native to the Mediterranean Sea and the coastlines along southern Europe. Though their sharp taste has earned them a widely negative reputation, many people enjoy anchovies without even knowing it. Anchovies, used sparingly, are often that little, unrecognizable “something extra” behind favorite recipes."


Anchovies in olive oil

Anchovies are mostly used in Italian cooking and in Ceasar salad dressing. There's a distinctive taste to anchovies that is hard to put words to, and smelly is the other way I would describe it. You have to give it a taste to know what I mean. Used sparingly in cooking, it gives the dish a magnificent flavour that's hard to forget.

Anchovy Pasta



Some pasta
Chilli flakes (dried whole chilli preferable)
10-15 peppercorns, crushed
5-6 anchovy fillets
1 clove garlic, minced
1 ripe tomato, diced
A couple of thai basil leaves
Olive oil

1. Boil pasta in a pot of water with some oil and salt until al dente. Drain water and leave it aside to cool.

2. Heat some olive oil in a pan/wok and add chilli. If you like it spicy then just use more chilli.

3. When the oil mixture is slightly smoky, stir in the peppercorns. Fry for a minute or two until fragrant.

4. Lower the fire slightly and add garlic and anchovies, stirring until anchovies began to dissolve in the oil. Fry a little while and add thai basil, then diced tomatoes.

5. Stir fry the mixture until tomatoes turn soft and pulpy. You should have a sauce-like mixture.

6. Add pasta and stir fry well until the juices dry up.

7. Eat! I like mine with a little parmesan shavings.

Note: Recipe serves one.

Note 2: BTW, it doesn't taste like the real thing... dunno what's missing. Otherwise, it's very edible la.

three cups of this and that

Heeding my out-of-nowhere burning desire for culinary pursuits (for a couple of weeks now), yesterday I took to the kitchen. Now, I would like to think I'm a good cook who doesn't practice enough, that's all ;O)

One of my favourite food discoveries last year was the Three Cups Chicken or 三杯鸡. I first had it at Fong Lye and I thought it was a Taiwanese dish. Turns out it originated from the Jiangxi Province of China but is really popular in Taiwan. The aroma and taste of the dish was so unique I can't quite catch what goes into it. I thought it would be really hard to make but it's actually so easy peasy!



I got the recipe for Three Cups Chicken from this website. Because what chopped up chicken pieces I have looks like half a chicken, I reduced the recipe to 1/5 cup of everything. After all the simmering and the sauce has evaporated, the chicken was left soaking in sesame oil! What's good about sesame oil though is that it doesn't leave an oily aftertaste compared to normal cooking oil. Still, I'll cut down on the oil next time and I'll use proper rice wine or more shaoxing jiu. I'll also pop in a few gizzards coz they would taste soooo good in this pot.



Not quite Fong Lye standard but I kinda like my version better ^___^ And because my mum saw me taking pictures of my Three Cups Chicken, she insist I take pictures of the night's dinner. So here's some fish.



There are many other things I would like to make and that I think I know how to make, so look out for more cooking posts in the future! Well, provided this burning desire keeps on burning, that is.

Oh yes, the reviews for my Three Cups Chicken.

Dad: [Busy eating so no comments]
Mum: Not bad [Mum's a great cook so a "not bad" from her is seriously not bad]
Bro: Chicken very tough [It's kampung chicken, they're tough like that]
Bf: Regardless of what your bro said, I think it's good [Yayy]

Vietnam 2009: food diary

Going local

Just around the corner from our hotel, we saw a "sidewalk cafe" with loads of people and decided this has to be the place. You almost always can't go wrong where there's a big crowd and especially when they're all locals.

My Vietnamese vocabulary is extremely limited, but I've learned enough to know when I've chanced upon a porridge or noodle stall and when I should avoid thit cho at all cost. Yet my Vietnamese food words failed me as we didn't come across any pho or bun or chao sign. Still, we pulled out a small blue plastic stool and observed what the next table was having. We asked what it was they were eating and from what few English words we could discern, it seemed like some cow spare parts.

Unperturbed, I waved for the attention of a young man and indicated "one" with my index finger.



I got served a bia hoi. Tastes no different from back home and gave me a pink flush after.

Bia hoi is fresh local beer, which around this region is something they brewed daily. It's not an illegal activity so to speak but the "breweries" are not exactly regulated either. Bia hoi are stored not in barrels but jumbo metal containers with a short hose attached to the bottom, for pouring. An efficient use of garden hose I must say.

Let's try this again

With not much luck there, we decided to hunt down some bun cha (vermicelli with grilled pork and minced pork) instead. Walking further down from the "sidewalk cafe", we turned into Duong Thanh Street. By now, The BF was getting hungry (I had a bia hoi, remember?) and almost all the shops along this street had its shutters down.

As we persevered on, we saw Dac Kim (67 Duong Thanh Street) and the words bun cha... ahhh, a sight for sore eyes. As we walked in, they gave a welcoming smile and ushered us upstairs. A lady asked us how many portions we wanted. Besides bun cha, they also have nem, crab meat spring rolls. "Very good," she said. We asked for one portion of each.



If you think the picture looks good, it tastes even better! The BF, who's got burnt food phobia, lapped it all up without much thought. I guess bun cha takes precedence over phobia, hehe. It's so good I wished I have not had any breakfast or downed that stupid bia hoi, coz I wanted to order two portions of barbeque just for myself. The nem's rather so-so but The BF like it a lot. Prices of food are displayed prominently on the walls, so I'm quite sure they're fair.

Spend a bit

At Vnd100,000 (equivalent to about RM20) per head, it's still a tad too expensive for a kopitiam-ish, rickety chairs and tables set-up. But I really miss cha ca (fried fish) and it's one of the main reasons why I'm back in Hanoi. And the only place I would have this is at Cha Ca La Vong (14 Cha Ca Street).

Like my last visit here, the place is still really popular with tourists and locals. The BF went absolutely bonkers for it (something unexpected) and we ended up eating there twice.




The secret to a good bowl of cha ca noodles is undoubtedly the stinky goodness of mam tom (fine shrimp sauce). You gotta ask for it coz they won't serve it to you if you're not local. Without mam tom, I probably wouldn't enjoy my cha ca noodles as much. I dunno why I like stinky stuff like this and cencalok (fermented tiny prawns) and belacan (dried shrimp paste) but I absolutely cannot stand durians.

Cha Ca La Vong gets packed at dinner time, so one should either make their way there early or just wait out until someone finishes their meal.

Splurge a little

One of those nights we treated ourselves to a nice little dinner at Green Tangerine (48 Hang Be), a self-described gastronomic restaurant and cafe.



This restaurant has won a lot of favourable comments from various food/restaurant forums. I would call their food European with a light Asian touch. I'm not a big fan of fusion but Green Tangerine does it well. No such unsophisticated stuff like spaghetti with green curry sauce. Yucks.

We had 2 soup starters (US$5.40 each), a beef carpaccio (US$7.40), lamb racks for me (US$21.10), salmon for him (US$19.60) and 2 juices (US$1.90 each). Although I love fish, I was glad I had the lamb coz the fish tasted kinda bland in comparison. The interesting flavours of the cous cous coupled with the grilled lamb left me wanting for mooooore. I'm still thinking about it now! Wish I could have some pictures to show you but we were dead tired that night and nobody wanted to lug the camera.

Portions are polite but not à la French, and had we been our usual hungry selves, we definitely need desserts. Although it wasn't cheap by Malaysian or even Vietnamese standards (US$ and Euro spenders would find it more than decent), it was worth it for the quality of food that we got. I can see myself going there again. For better value for money, they do have set lunches at US$8.90 for a main course and dessert.

Reservation is recommended. We strolled in at 7pm to a fully booked restaurant and had to return 2 hours later. Do ask for a table outside, it's much nicer!

Sweets for my sweet

As we were strolling along Hoan Kiem lake one day, we saw this chic French cafe looking shop. We took a peek inside and to our delight, it's an ice cream parlour! Since our tummy was already bloated from overfeeding, we made a pass with a mental note to return.

So on Christmas Eve, after we discovered there's not much partying activities in Hanoi, we made the slow and hazardous journey to Fanny (48 Le Thai To Street).

It seemed like everyone are out in the streets that night. Hoan Kiem lake was exceptionally jam-packed with every boyfriend-girlfriend in Hanoi. The roads circling Hoan Kiem lake was chock-a-block with countless bikes and pedestrians, all apparently heading to St Joseph's Cathedral. If crossing the street was a challenge on normal days, it was an absolute nightmare bordering on suicidal that night.



It wasn't any better at Fanny. There was no queue and it's basically "you get the table if you're nearest to it". A concept not foreign to us Malaysians. We went for a table that's just about finishing and stood next to them quietly. Pressured by our presence, they called for the bill and waited a bit to settle and a bit more for the girlfriend to return from the toilet.

We took longer than necessary to order, thanks to their drool-inducing menu. Their range of flavours are somewhat regular with a couple of not-oft seen ones like nougat, ginger and avocado. BUT, I can tell you dark chocolate is the bestest ever! Order that with some fresh strawberries and float straight to heaven.



Fanny has a website here.

Coffee culture

The Vietnamese love their cuppa. It seemed less like a cup of caffeine boost and more like a lifestyle thing. At any time of day, weekdays or weekends, you can find a crowd in any coffee place, sipping on ca phe sua da (iced milk coffee), watching the world go by. It's as if they don't have to work.

Maybe I should move to Hanoi.

Cafe Nang (6 Hang Bac)

won't you pose for my camera?

I still love my new-ish toy. I carry it everywhere I go now. We're inseparable.

Anyone who know me well know this: I have a strange penchant for whipping out my camera and angle for a shot the moment a plate of food settles on the table, forbading anyone to even touch a fork until I've got the perfect shot. My kind friends indulge their weird friend by staring at their food longingly until I'm done.

Saturday lunch @ Jarrod & Rawlins

It's actually work related but good food and good music somehow compensates it. Serves my favourite meal of the day, all day - breakfast. I must say the lighting at JR is excellent! Bright and soft. It's soooo hard to concentrate on work when we're happily singing along to The Temptations, Roy Orbison and Bob Marley.

I might come here again, with a novel or something.







Monday dinner @ Fukuya

The restaurant is breath taking. A long noren curtain hangs at the entrance and the usher will peel them open, revealing a huge courtyard with private dining rooms along the sides. It reminds me of those olden days houses of rich merchants. Can't believe there's such an exquisite place in the middle of town. Felt like I've accidentally stumbled into a different world.

Fukuya specialises in Kaiseki dining, which is a multi-course traditional Japanese cuisine. I gather it's something similar to haute cuisine. You can also get wagyu here.

Food is fresh and different, but the company for the night was the best! Here we are, this bunch of people I met from the Redang trip, each reminiscing about the crazy things we do in college/university. Conversation flowed easy. Can't remember the last time I had such a blast with people I've just met.









Maybe I'm getting more difficult to please as I age, but I find myself expecting more from both restaurants. Food's good but nothing to shout about. I can think of other places that serve the same quality of food at prices that would sear the pockets a bit bit less. I like Fukuya for its ambience.

Jarrod & Rawlins
No. 6, Lorong Dungun, Damansara Heights, 50480 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03-2093 0708

Fukuya
9, Jalan Delima, 55100 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03-2144 1022
Opening hours: Noon-2.30pm; 6.30pm-10.30pm; Closed on Sundays
Location map: http://www.fukuya.com.my/contact/img/map.pdf

Kuching ho! part 2 : jom makan

I think my stomach capacity expanded these last few days.

No trip is complete without a sampling of the local food. If you’re feeling a little bit hungry now, I suggest you skip this post. It's all about food!! I will not be responsible if you get electrocuted salivating against the monitor.

The following are just some must-haves when visiting Kuching...

A place that serves really good Sarawak Laksa is Golden Arch Shopping Mall located at 3rd Mile. Just look for the stall that says “Garden Laksa”. Instead of laksa noodles, they use bee hoon instead. The broth is rich like the curry laksa but it has a base of what taste like belacan. In it are also taugeh and chicken strips. Big prawns are optional. It’s the simplest version of laksa I’ve ever come across, but it’s soooooo smackalicious! I simply love the belacan and lime dip. I habiskan semua - the dip, the soup - both times!!


Something I can eat everyday until I get sick by the sight of it

Introducing the orh chien, Kuching style. Orh (oyster) chien (fry) is oysters fried in a flour and egg batter, usually with some garlic and/or coriander for flavour. Unlike the ones you find at the restaurants or foodcourts here in PJ/KL or even Penang, the orh chien in Kuching has a crispy base and looks like a pizza. Not sure if it’s the local style of making all their orh chien this way, but I had this version at ABC Seafood, one of the many foodstalls at Bukit Mata, Topspot. Personally, I have never been a fan but I’m now officially an orh chien eater convert. But my stomach says only one condition: Kuching style.... heheheh


Look at the size of those orhs! HUGE......

The barbeque chicken wings in the parking lot opposite Pasar Kota Sentosa is da bomb. Besides chicken wing, they also have barbeque gizzards and the somewhat exotic barbeque chicken kar cherng. My bro swear it’s heavenly delicious but I’m not eating no butt of anything. No way, EVER EVER. It’s not a natural anatomical part to feed on. Unfortunately, no pictures. Hungry laaa.... stomach more important!

Where a bowl of kolo mee can burn a hole in your pocket, go to Restaurant Swee Sin at 10th Mile. My bowl with big big prawns already cost RM8. The most expensive kolo mee on their menu is RM30. I dunno la what they put inside but RM30 can buy me 20 Teh-C-Peng Special liao. Much much too expensive for me. And their kolo mee is so-so only, nothing too special. However, the place seemed pretty popular with locals and tourists alike.



My favourite drink in Kuching: Teh-C-Peng Special. It’s your normal basic teh peng sweetened with gula melaka (palm sugar). Certain coffeeshops serve them with 5 layers and cincau. This one here is the standard 3 layers.



That's all for food. Hope you're hungry and planning a trip to Kuching soon!

Sandias@Damansara Heights

A cause for a small gathering and another excuse to try out a new makan place. Applause and adulations to Ivy Jie who simply insisted we go here after she vetoed my suggestion :p

Sandias is obviously (or not so obviously) a Mexican outfit. A quick google on "sandias" returned image results on... watermelons? Heh, turns out the place is named after a painting by Mexican artist, Rufino Tamayo.

We arrived 7.30pm on the dot and found that the place is very empty save for an uncle having a beer outside. I believe I'm not alone when I say we associate crowdedness of restaurant to yumminess of food. If the queue is out the door, even better. I will somehow refrain from entering a restaurant that has no patrons. It's probably the kiasu mentality at work. If everyone is going after something, it has to be good, no?

But all my hesitations were put to dead the moment I enter. The waiters were very friendly and polite. They pull out chairs, lay napkins on your lap and bring you water. Top class service. The chef even came out from the kitchen and offered to walk us through the menu. I am experienced orderer of Japanese and Italian cuisine but the only Mexican food I can identify with are tacos and nachos of Taco Bell fame. And I don't see no tacos on the menu *gasp*

Oh, here's an interesting trivia: Mr Patrick, the chef, is actually Irish. How an Irishman ended up making Mexican food is a mystery. But we thoroughly enjoyed the food. Proves that nationality is no boundaries when it comes to makan.

For starters, we settled for the Starters Platter (RM88) comprising 2 hot and 2 cold starters. There's Quesadillitas Tricolor, which are handmade masa tortillas stuffed with either mushroom, potato or cheese, and deep fried to golden brown. Looks a bit like curry puff. Taquitos Fritos are similar that they are hand rolled tortillas filled with minced chicken seasoned with cilantro and onions. Comes with fresh cream, cheese and salsa verde garnish. I lovelovelove the Ceviche. It's kinda like tomato salsa with lime juice and small cubes of dory fish. The Guacamole is chunky, nothing like those you find at Chili's or HRC. This version win hands down. Goes really well with the tortilla chips, although I would much prefer it with less cilantro.



I had the Atun Fresco en Mole Verde (RM48). In english, it's fresh tuna fillet in a green mole sauce made of pumpkin seeds, radish leaves and spices. Ooo... doesn't that just make your mouth water? Ivy Jie chose the Trucha con Salsa de Champignones (RM29), grilled sea trout served with rich mushroom sauce, which is good too.



Somehow all the girls ended up having fish. The guys opted for something with a little bit more bite. But... all oso same bite. ALL of them had Barbacoa de Cordero (RM38), charbroiled marinated lamb cutlets served with salsa and tortillas. How unexciting. At least try something different so we can get a taste of it ma, tsk tsk. The verdict on the lamb: 6 thumbs up, 3 left and 3 right hahahah



Do not be misled by the looks of the food. For something that looks decorative, it's surprisingly quite filling.

We probably sampled say 15% of the menu. Mr Patrick highly recommended the Chile Ancho Relleno, a somewhat rather traditional Mexican dish. There's like cheese, lamb and refried beans all stuffed into this huge chili. We're talking stuffed chili big enough to be a meal on its own. Wow. Must try next time.

Something in their dessert menu caught our attention - Ciku Pudding. All of us thought it's try-worthy but too bad don't have. So we decided to head somewhere else for dessert.

I noticed also by the time we're halfway through dinner, the crowd started to pour in. Seems like people at this part of town take their dinner late. The crowdedness/yumminess theory is right after all. We were just early.

Address>>
44 Plaza Damansara
Jalan Medan Setia Dua
Bukit Damansara
50250 Kuala Lumpur

Tel>>
03 2095 8431

Rakuzen@Subang

Yesterday we went to Rakuzen for me bro's belated birthday dinner.

Happy 24 dawg!! (or pig, to be more accurate)

Anyway, I remember not quite liking Rakuzen@Hartamas. Service was slow and food quality's so-so only. Was a bit apprehensive about trying out this Subang branch but we didn't want to go to Shun again and personally, the occasion also calls for something more up-market i.e. more expensive. I lose "good sister" points if I go kiam siap on his birthday la y'know.

It's a good thing I made a reservation coz the place was packed! The queue was out of the door... chiat lat. But they "lost" my table....

T___T

Apparently a girl with the same name and same party of 5 came like 10 minutes before, and they gave it to her instead. Next time must make reservation under a canggih name like Malibu or Smirnoff or Bacardi. Don't like it when people share my name and take my table, hmphh.

The manager was very apologetic about it and promised to get me the first available table. It seemed like a genuine mistake and with all the activities that's going on, I can understand la. After about 10 minutes I got a table upstairs, which turned out to be a better deal coz upstairs, we sit on the tatami with the hole thingy under the table. Very Japanese, very cool.

With the crowd and all, service was as good as it gets. And the food, well, I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.



















We had 12 types of main course and appetizer and 2 types of dessert. Menu's pretty extensive and they do have items not on the menu, if you know how to order la. Food's good and unique. Just look at the dessert for proof. Sashimi is fresh!! I whack all myself..hahahaha. Total bill came to about RM300, which I think is reasonable. Oh, and green tea is on the house.

Seriously quite good *rubs big tummy*

Address >>
No.13, Jalan SS15/5A
47500 Subang Jaya
(Place is pretty obscure, easily missed. It's opposite SJMC, not the Windmill row but the other across the mainroad row. Neighbours with D'Tandoor and Gin Ryu Tei)

Tel >>
03 5880 4717
(Reservation recommended)

Opening hours >>
11.30am - 3.00pm, 6.00pm - 11.00pm (Mon-Thurs)
12.00 noon - 11.00pm (Fri-Sun & public holiday)