Feasta Fiesta

Camp Food - Lamb chops in the forest

2007-11-20T02:15:00.000+11:00

Can't believe I am away for that long!! Been busy lately, lots of packing and day trips. Only 2 more weeks till I leave Melbourne to KL! In fact, my dogs are already in an airport awaiting for their flights to KL for the next day. Lucky dogs to be on a plane! Their tickets are not cheap, I must say, it totals up to A$2145 for both of them. Phiew. There goes my holiday trip to Italy.

Allright, back to the topic. Went bush camping at the Kooyoora State Park in Bendigo last weekend. It was hot and dry. Also, there were like gazillions of flies all around, which is the most annoying thing ever! I never knew that there could be so much flies! God damn!

I must say that the highlights of the trip for me would be the dinner and the trip to Melville Caves which was absolute gorgeous.

I freeze lamb chops the night before and by the time we were at the camp the next day, the lamb chops had defrosted nicely to be whacked on a pile of hot coals! I seasoned it with dried rosemary, salt and pepper. While it's cooking, it smelt amazing and guess what. It just attracted more flies. Ouch.

Turning around.

I wonder, why does camp food always tasted so much better than the same meals made at a kitchen? I swear to god, those were the best lamb chops I ever had. And I had many before that. It was so good.

Oh yah, the canned food was chilli beans with beef chunks. It was yummy but the lamb chops still wins in the taste factor hands down. Yee-haa!

Recipe: Shrimp Egg Foo Yong / Prawn Omelette

2007-10-30T16:56:00.000+11:00

This is the type of Chinese dish that I love but will hesitate to order in a restaurant because it is so easy to make. It is so yummy and so good with rice.

I heat up the oil until its smoking hot before pouring the omelette mixture into the hot wok. It was real pleasure watching the omelette puffing up. I managed to take a picture of it. ^.^

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This is my recipe:

Ingredients:

Pink, fresh prawns

8-10 large fresh prawns
3 eggs
1 small brown onion
1 bunch of spring onion - sliced into 3 cm in length
salt to taste
3 tbsp oil

Method:

Fluffing up in hot oil

1. Cut the onion into halves. Then slice it into even half-rings.
2. Pour a tablespoon of oil into the wok. Cook the onions until it is slightly golden in color. Dish out and leave aside.
3. Break eggs in a bowl. Add salt and whisk it up with chopsticks. Add fresh prawns, cooked onions and spring onions into the omelette mixture.
4. Heat up remaining oil in a wok. Leave it on high heat until you begin to see smoke rising up. Pour the omelette and enjoy the beautiful sight of eggs puffing up. Lower down the heat to medium and cook for 30 seconds. Turn around to cook the other side. It is ready when the prawns are cooked.
5. Serve with rice.

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Yummy prawns

Oven-baked pork spare ribs with crispy garlic

2007-10-27T14:57:00.000+10:00

Spare ribs with garlic

There's something about eating spare-ribs. It brings out the primitive side out of me. There is no way of eating politely when it comes to meat on bone. Especially the juiciest part of meat normally comes with bone. I.e lamb racks. I.e spare ribs.

I served the spare ribs with white rice and some chinese vegetables stir-fry. I picked one spare rib with my chopsticks. It became quite a chore as I find it hard to balance the rib on the chopsticks while I chew off the meat from the bone. It was so annoying because the meat kept slipping from the chopsticks. Lol.

My bare fingers then came to the rescue. Some food are just meant to be eaten with hands. There is just something about eating ribs with your hands. It is just so... carnivorous and comforting at the same time. Lol. Oh yeah, and the crispy garlic went so well with the rice...

My recipe is very simple, I just marinated the ribs for a couple of hours (overnight would be better) and then just bake in a hot oven till cooked. The whole house smelled so nice while the ribs are sizzling in the oven. I looove it!

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Here is my recipe:

Ingredients:

1 kg pork spare ribs
5 cloves of fat garlic - chopped
2 tbsp soya sauce
2 tbsp Shao Xing rice wine
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp sugar
a pinch of salt

Method:

1. Marinate the pork with all ingredients. Leave it in the fridge for at least an hour to marinate.
2. Preheat oven to 200 degree celcius.
3. Line marinated ribs in a tray. Reserve the garlic for later. Bake for 20 minutes.
4. Turn the ribs around, baste with marinade. Bake for another 20 minutes.
5. Turn the ribs, baste with marinade. Place garlic on top of the ribs. Bake for another 5 minutes.
6. Serve immediately. Great with rice.

Note: If I have 5 spice powder, I would have added about a teaspoon in the marinade. It would give another dimension to the ribs, but it is already good as it is.

Recipe: Chicken Rendang

2007-10-25T23:19:00.000+10:00

Seeing Jackson's post on his nasi lemak fare with chicken rendang the other day made me crave for chicken rendang soo much that all I can think about the whole day was chicken rendang. Serious. I am so not kidding you.

And so, the very next day, after dreaming of tender and spicy chicken rendang, I went to the market and get the ingredients for a chicken rendang. I am such an impulse food shopper, when I see something online, particularly in food blog that triggers my cravings and interest, I got to have that right away!!

Sigh, shouldn't I be an impulse clothes and shoes shopper instead? Guess, I am different from other gals. Food is my weakness, yo.

Well, I'm not sure if mine is as tasty as Jackson's, but I was very, very happy with the result, so did J - who had second helpings of rice and chicken rendang. Haha.

My recipe is very similar with my beef rendang recipe, the only difference would be the cooking time - as I do not need to cook the chicken for a very long time for it to be tender. In fact, I merely let it cook for about an hour to achieve a fall-off-the-bone tenderness.

Oh yah, I forgot that I also added lemongrass to the rendang. It definitely made the dish more flavourful and fragrant.

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This is my recipe:

Ingredients:

1.5 kg chicken
1 large brown onion - chopped finely
1 thumb-sized ginger - minced finely
3 lemongrass - use the white part only and minced finely
1 cinnamon
1 star anise
4 green cardamom pods
1 packet of ready-to-use rendang paste
2 cups of water
400 ml coconut cream (substitute with coconut milk if available)
1/2 cup of desiccated coconut for kerisik

Method:

1. To make kerisik: Toast desiccated coconut in a dry pan on low heat until the colour turns brown. Be very careful as they tend to burn easily. Leave aside.
(The other method would be toasting at 180 degrees celcius in a oven for 20 minutes).

2. Fry onions, ginger, lemongrass, cardamom pods, star anise and cinnamon until fragrant.

4. Add the rendang paste and stir well.

5. Add the chicken. Mix everything well together until chicken is coated with the paste.
Add water and simmer for 30 minutes on low heat.

6. Add the coconut cream. Allow it to simmer for 30 minutes until almost dry.

7. Add the kerisik. Mix well and let it simmer for 2-3 minutes.
Serve hot with rice or roti canai.

Bon appetite!!

Bacons, Eggs and Sausages for Breakfast

2007-10-20T11:22:00.001+10:00

There's something about preparing a leisurely breakfast on a Saturday morning and then enjoying it slowly over glasses of orange juice and morning chat. What you see on the picture are fried eggs, bacons, sausages and grilled tomatoes with parsley. I had given a recipe for grilled tomatoes in my previous entry. J had already piled up his toast with bacon and grilled tomatoes. They are so yummy!!

My plate

J's plate, with double of everything =)

So, what did you have for breakfast today?

Juicy, sweet corns on cobs

2007-10-19T20:00:00.000+10:00

Corn on cobs

While walking around Footscray Market this morning, I came across rows and rows of fresh corns still in their husks and since I had not have corns for ages, it is only sensible to treat myself to fresh corns. And so, I returned home with 3 corns in my grocery bags.

A couple of hours later in the kitchen, I steamed the corns in the microwave for 4 minutes. Later, I slathered them with knobs of butter and a pinch of salt. One for J, one for me. The other one would have to wait in the fridge. I planned to save one for soup. =)

Plump kernels

Each kernel is so fat and bursting with juice, we have to be careful while eating so not to splatter each other with corn juice. Lol. But really, that is one hell of a good corn. So good with butter.

Sweet jebus

I need to put corns in my shopping list from now on.

Recipe: Long beans with Sambal Belachan

2007-10-19T13:26:00.001+10:00

See that dark parts there? That small bits are so flavourful that I only need an itsy bitsy bit to eat with your plan rice. I kept the veges crisp though, as there is nothing worse than soggy stir-fry vegetables. This is a Malaysian dish, using belachan paste, dried shrimps and chillies.

Well, I used crispy prawn chillies that I bought from supermarkets, once I found a good brand, I tend to stick to it. I recommend DeliChef Crispy Prawn Chilli. It is so yummy and moreish.

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This is my recipe:

(Click for larger pic)

Ingredients:

300g long beans - cut into 3cms in length
1 tbsp dried shrimp - chopped
1 tbsp crispy prawn chillies
1/2 tbsp of belachan paste
2 cloves garlic - chopped finely
2 tbsp water
1 tbsp oil
salt to taste

Method:

1. Heat up oil in a wok under high heat. Add dried shrimps and fry for 4 minutes or until crispy. Remove and leave aside.
2. Saute garlic in the remaining oil until golden brown.
3. Add belachan paste and stir well until fragrant.
4. Add crispy prawn chillies and fry for 30 seconds.
5. Add beans and water and fry for 3 minutes.
6. Serve warm with rice.

Recipe: Creamy Spaghetti with Pork Sausages and Mushrooms

2007-10-17T17:40:00.000+10:00

Spaghetti (Sausages + Mushrooms + Cream) + Parsley = DARN GOOD PASTA
(CLICK FOR LARGER PIC)

This pasta is so darn good that I smacked myself on the head thinking why did I never think of making this dish before!? Last night feeling hungry and in an intense need-food-now mode, I find myself rummaging the fridge to see what fresh ingredients I have. There is no time for cooking rice and dishes, my hunger could not wait.

When I saw the pork sausages and mushrooms, my mind was already thinking of making a dish with sausages and mushrooms. When a bottle of cream came into my view (leftover from my lasagna dish), I thought, "Brilliant!! Pasta it is!"

Porky Sausages

Seriously, this is so freaking tasty that I find myself gasping for air as I furiously shoved mounds of spaghettis into my eager mouth. The concoction is just perfect, meaty sausages with earthy fresh button mushrooms all combined together in a creamy sauce with sprinkling of parsley. Every single strand of spaghetti was coated with sauce and bits of parsley. It was so tasty and satisfying!

For you pasta lovers out there, you just got to try out this recipe! Believe me, you won't regret it. You can thank me later. =D

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This is my recipe:

Ingredients:

Spaghetti for 2 servings
3 pork sausages
2 cup of fresh button mushrooms - sliced evenly
4 cloves of garlic - minced finely
1/4 cup of fresh parsley - chopped finely
1/2 cup of cream
salt and pepper to taste

Method:

1. Cook spaghetti as per instruction on the back of the packet.
2. Meanwhile, cook the sausages on a separate pan in oil until cooked. Remove and chop the sausages into even bite-sized pieces. Leave aside.
3. Sweat the garlic in the same pan. Add the mushrooms and mix well for 3 minutes until mushrooms soften.
4. Add the chopped sausages and mix well.
5. Add the spaghetti and cream. Stir well.

6. Season with salt and pepper. Lastly, turn off the fire and add the parsley.

7. Combine everything well together and bon appetite!

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gimme more
(CLICK FOR LARGER PIC)

Scones and Hot Chocolate at Miss Marple's Tea Room, Sassafras

2007-10-16T16:41:00.000+10:00

Just like out of a picture book

Miss Marple's Tea Room is located at a small picturesque town of Sassafras in the heart of beautiful Dandenongs. I loo-vvee going to the Dandenongs and escape to the lush of giant fern forests and wine farms. Every now and then, along the the road of the Dandenongs, I will come across a U-Pick Farm where you could pick strawberries, cherries, blueberries... whatever that is in season, really! There are also a few trout farms nestled in the Dandenongs. I highly recommend this trout farm, J and I had a field day fishing for trouts and salmon that day! We wind up our fruitful day with a tasty trout BBQ and a salmon sashimi on the farm itself!

Miss Marple on the cover of the menu

Allright, back to Miss Marple's, I come to know by the quaint little tearoom while watching Postcard TV, and I thought that I gotta go there!! And indeed there I was, at the very next weekend, on a glorious, sunny Sunday morning. It proved to be very, very popular among the tourists and locals. J and I were among the first to arrive at 10 am and as minutes passed by, tourists and locals alike came in by the hordes and filled up the tables. By 10:30 am, there was a waiting line for tables.

Picture this people, people waiting... in... line... for an English Tea/Scones on a Sunday morning!! To be honest, if I wasn't there enjoying my tea and scones, I would be in my bed, still sleeping, soundly, not somewhere in the forest queuing up for scones. No regrets, though, the scones were very, very good. It made up for my sleeping in time, big time.

Devonshire Scones with Whipped Cream and Home-made Jam $7.90

We ordered a plain and fruit scone, with me having the former as I am not really fond of dried fruits. It came in a basket lined with pretty cloth along with 2 generous bowls of fresh lashings of whipped cream and home-made strawberry jam.

Fresh lashings of cream and jam

Hot chocolate with marshmallows $4.50

J ordered a hot chocolate while I had the Devonshire Tea $3.50 with its own teapot and a jug of milk. Aww, so thoughtful. J exclaimed that the hot chocolate was very good, he liked the dusting of cocoa powder on top very much. As for me, I enjoyed my tea. Watching the colour of tea changing as I poured in the milk was the highlight of the day for me. HAHA.

Fruit scone

I need to add that the scones arrived very warm, which means they are as fresh as they can be. There were also a very generous topping of icing sugar on top of the scones, which multiplies the pretty factor by 20 times, which helps to whelp the appetite by about 30 times. J said his fruit scone had a strong resemblance to a banana cake, he liked it a lot.

With generous serve of jam and cream

We took our time to cut our scones into smaller squares with our butter knives and slow-ly lashing it up with cream and jams. And then, after looking at our piece of arts fondly, we eat them.

Super awesome

Oh my god, it is so good. No wonder there were people waiting out in the cold for these wicked scones!! The scones are very dense and warm to the touch, the cream is very fresh and light and not at all queasy, and the best parts? Those little seeds in the jam that go POP in your mouth as you slowly savour the sweetness of the scones.

And what we did was repeating the process all over again: cutting, smearing, admiring and eating.

I could wake up to this every morning. No alarm clocks needed.

Jams and tea bags

As we come to the end of our meal, we headed to the counter near the entrance of the shop to pay our bill. Behind the counter were shelves of home-made jams, preserves and their house-tea, Devonshire Tea for sale. They don't take bookings so if you do plan to come here, do come early or you would have to wait for some time. You know, it is hard to get away from the firewood with your hot chocolate.

Ah, the Dandenongs, I love you.

382 Mt. Dandenong-Tourist Road
Sassafras
Victoria 3787
03-97551610

OOPS. Blog comments gone!!

2007-10-16T15:03:00.000+10:00

DOH!

I was trying to change the template of my blog last night, and being the careless me, I did not do the recommended backup first.

Guess what happened? The new template had taken place, I do not like it at all as there were some tabs that could not be changed and so, when I tried to change back to my old template, most of the widgets and extras were gone.

Panicked, I quickly do a backup of my posts at Word Press with success, it was surprisingly very easy and simple to do, and then I have to delete and re-opened my blog at Blogger and start importing my posts from Word Press.

Phiew~

But.. sobs! I have lost my links, my ads and my precious comments!! SOBSSS!!

I need more time to get back with the links, there is so much to do now, I would have to start updating my other sites with the new blog ID (sitemeter, ads, etc).

So much work with just a little harmless template change!! Sheesh, well, never again!

So, please people, do.. DO.. DO.. BACKUP your template before doing any changes no matter how little the change is, or maybe I am the only silly one.

My, what a lesson.

Till then, please be patient while I post back the links!

Cheers!

Recipe: Braised Pork Belly with Boiled Eggs

2007-10-15T05:52:00.000+10:00

Pork Belly with Eggs

The lasagna post would have to wait for now. Last night, I made braised pork belly with boiled eggs for dinner. It is sinfully delicious and easy to cook, the hardest thing is probably the waiting time, as this dish normally takes more than 2 hours to achieve the most tender piece of pork belly.

Eaten with warm rice and a few specks of hot chillies, it is the ultimate comfort Chinese home-style food. I could eat this everyday, which is probably not a good idea if I want to live longer.

Belly fat. Yum.

The best part would be the belly fat, it is so very tasty and tender melt-in-your-mouth kind. I love to cut a small piece of egg white + egg yolk + pork belly with fat and scoop it all up with rice. Your mouth and taste senses will be treated to the ultimate orgasm for sure.

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This is my recipe:

Ingredients:

500g pork belly - cut into cubes
4 cloves garlic
4 boiled eggs
1 tbsp dark soya sauce
1/2 tbsp soya sauce
1/2 tbsp sugar
2 star anise
1 cup water

Method:

Place all ingredients except the eggs in a pan and let it simmer for 1.5 hours. Add the eggs and let it simmer for another 30 minutes or until the meat is tender.

Step-by-step Recipe: Bolognese Sauce

2007-10-09T03:07:00.000+10:00

Bolognese Meat Sauce on Pre-cooked Lasagna

This is a mighty tasty sauce which is simple to do. It is also great with pasta (spaghetti bolognese, anyone?) and could keep well in the fridge.

This is my recipe for Bolognese Meat Sauce:

Ingredients:

2 large brown onions - chopped finely
1 kg minced beef
2 bay leaves
500g of canned whole tomatoes
2 tbsp of tomato paste
2 tbsp oil
salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Heat up oil in a large saucepan. Add onions and bay leaves and saute on medium heat for 2 minutes.

2. Add minced beef and stir well for 5 minutes or until beef is cooked.

3. Add the canned tomatoes and tomato paste into the beef mixture. Stir well and let it simmer for 10 minutes on low heat.

4. Voila!
Tasty bolognese sauce for lasagna or spaghetti bolognese.

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Coming up next!

A step-by-step recipe for making a lasagna - with photos and description of layering out the lasagna.

Mozzarella Cheese on Meat Sauce as part of a preparation for a Lasagna

Recipe: Bechamel Sauce

2007-10-03T14:19:00.000+10:00

Lasagna

This will be the first part of a very long and tedious process of making a lasagna from scratch, right whisking up bechamel sauce, slicing onions and simmering the meat sauce. Everything took approximately 2 hours to make and the aftermath?

Two sinks full of dirty dishes and a disgruntled J - whose chore is to clean the dishes. Haha!

Hope I didn't scare you away from making a lasagna. Lol. I did made enough for 8 servings, so there's enough to freeze and to consume in the future.

So here goes, to start rolling, here is my simplified recipe for bechamel sauce (that I made for the very first time and which turned out quite well):

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Ingredients:

1/4 cup butter
4 tbsp plain flour - sifted
2 cup cream
salt and pepper to taste

Method:

1. Melt butter in saucepan.

2. Add flour to the butter and stir well.

3. Add the cream and stir well into the mixture.

4. Whisk well on low heat until there are no visible of lumps. Bring it to a boil and add salt and pepper to taste. You should get a thick and creamy sauce in the end. Keep aside.

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As this was the first time in me making a bechamel sauce, I thought it would be easier to cook everything on a shallow pan for even distributed heat. Well, big mistake as you couldn't possibly whisk the sauce in a pan without splattering everywhere, could you? I also do not want have bits of teflon scraps in my sauce, do I? Lol. And so, I transfer the flour and butter mixture into a small pot before adding the cream and I recommend that you make your sauce from a pot.

Maybe that explains my mountains of dirty dishes, eh? Haha.

Coming up next! A photolog recipe of meat sauce, part 2 of the Lasagna Trilogy. Stay tuned!

That's 1 kg of minced beef you see here

Beef Pie and Pepperoni Salami

2007-09-30T14:48:00.001+10:00

We had beef pies (of course) while watching the Grand Final last Saturday. IMHO, it wasn't really a good game, what with the record-breaking point margin and all. *shrugs*

Back to the pie, it was a Sargeant's Premium Beef Pie as was clearly shown on the top of the pastry. It was tasty and meaty with lots of delish gravy, but I think it will do better with more salt. Great with beer though!

We also nibbled salamis with olives and brie cheese, very very scrummy and moreish!

Yum, I love the chilli flakes on them. Though I must say that this is only an occasional snack due to its high fat content. Lol!

Recipe: Lou Shu Fan (Rat Tail Noodles)

2007-09-26T15:35:00.001+10:00

Lou Shu Fan

Lou shu fan are translated into 'rat tail noodles' because the shape of the noodles resemble the tails of rats. Sounds icky, doesn't it? But don't be put off by the name, as the noodles are truly tasty - chewy and gelatinous in texture.

I was taught on how to prepare this dish by my mother, many years ago while I was young. It reminds me of home now that I'm in a foreign country. I was thrilled to come across this noodles in Footscray Market. Although it cost approximately 20 times than the ones sold in Malaysia, I bought the noodles without thinking twice. It paid off in the end, as the result was a comforting and satisfying dish that brings back flashes of sweet memories.

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This is my mom's recipe:

Ingredients:

400g lou shu fan/rat tail noodles
100g minced pork
150g choy sum - cut into 3 inches length
3 cloves of garlic - chopped finely
1 tbsp of dark soya sauce
1.5 tbsp of soya sauce
1/2 tbsp of oil
1/4 cup of water
1/4 tsp of sugar
salt to taste

Method:

1. Saute garlic in oil until dark golden in color.
2. Add minced pork and stir well for few minutes until the pork is cooked.
3. Add the noodles and the sauces, salt and sugar and stir well until combined. Add water and
let it simmer for 3 minutes.
4. Add the choy sum and stir well. Leave it until the vegetables are wilted and cooked.
5. Serve immediately.

Rat tail noodles

The Royal Melbourne Show

2007-09-26T01:59:00.000+10:00

This is the 3rd time I've been to the Royal Melbourne Show, and probably the last time, too, since I'll be heading back to Malaysia for good at the end of the year. Sigh. Oh well, J and I had a marvelous time yesterday and it will be one of our sweet memories of Melbourne.

Ferris Wheel

Even though it's a Tuesday, there's still a big crowd, particularly when the school's holidays are here. There were plenty of rides to keep the adrenaline rushing.

Hangover

The first stop for me would be the food and wine display, of course. There were about 30-40 food exhibitionists in there, some with free tastings. I had a field day trying out the cheeses, crackers and the memorable fiery chilly sauce which was rated 10/10. Dear god, I was gasping around for air I thought I was chilly-tolerant. Boy, that chilly sauce put me straight up that day.

Wines from the Yarra Valley

The Australian Apiarists

Multi-colored fudge

Next up was the trip to the Arts and Crafts show where they displayed the wide range of cakes, jams and cake decorations from competitors (mostly housewives) around Australia. It was a simply breathtaking sight to behold.

Cupcakes

The winner of all cupcakes has got to be g-ood

Jams and Jellies

There were plenty of audible oohs and ahhs at the cake-decorations display area. I was one of the louder ones. *grins* Those were the most amazing piece of arts that I have ever seen, and to think they are going to be eaten! My heart goes out to all of them.

Sugared teddies

SO CUTE. Love the cow.

Outside in the open air, there were plenty of activities and games to keep the public entertained. I walked down a path and saw kids had their face painted using vibrant colors.

Spiderman in the making, hooray!

Cheer up, boy. There's nothing wrong with Cicakman.

Then there were the farm animals in the Animal Pavilion and the show dogs at the Dog Shows.

Cute kids

I let you touch me while I'm sleeping only because you are pretty.

Friendly neighbours

There was also an entertaining circus show in the middle of the showground complete with trapeze, balancing act and acrobatic stunts.

Flying trapeze

And monster trucks and free style stunt bikes in the Coca-cola Arena, which was the best show of the day, I reckon.

Monster truck

And in every nook and corner, there were eye-catching stalls selling showbags - which is the main attractions for the Royal Melbourne Show.

Showbags selling like hotcakes

I noticed that everyone had showbags in their hands, some with trolleys full of showbags. It's like going to the markets - instead of shopping for meat and vegetables, they shop for showbags!

I must say we were one of them - we bought 10 Pedigree showbags for our dogs. There were Schmackos and Denta Sticks which we thought were very good for value. We love our dogs more than ourselves. Lol.

Soft toys

There were lots of soft toys around - some bigger than the kids themselves. You play games or join a lucky draw to win them. I got a Care Bear, yippee!

And after all the hours of walking and shopping, we were hungry and started to look for food. We don't have to look for long though, there were food stalls dotted all around the showground. Throughout the day, we had fish and chips, pancakes with icing sugar and maple syrup, a dagwood dog and soft drinks. Fried food with show just go hand-in-hand together.

I'd be happy too if I'm surrounded by fairy floss all day

Food stall

Best pancakes, ever.

We had a great time and the total damages for that day was $180 for the both of us. Not cheap, but still, another great memory with lots of photographs that comes with it.

Roast Duck with Fragrant Garlic Rice

2007-09-23T06:55:00.002+10:00

Home made garlic and ginger rice with roast duck

You didn't think that I made that roast duck, did you? Of course not! Lol. I felt like having roast duck today, but I was feeling really reluctant to venture out of my warm home into the dark and freezing night. And so, I asked J to buy roast duck from our favourite suburb Hong Kong restaurant and I made our own fragrant special rice to go with it.

While he was away buying the duck, I prepared the rice. To make the rice extra special, I made ginger and garlic oil. I simply minced 4 cloves of garlic and a small knob of ginger finely and microwave it in the oven with a little bit of oil until crispy. Before cooking the rice, I simply mix in the fragrant mixture of garlic and ginger with a little bit of salt. (Btw, I normally cook my rice in the microwave, it is really easy and simple to wash up later)

By the time J got back, the kitchen smelled wonderfully of the rice and we were ready to tuck in!

Half of a roasted duck for $11. A bargain, I must say.

Succulent and juicy

There's a little container of sweetish salty sauce that came with the roast duck. It went marvelously well with the fragrant rice and the delicious duck. I also chopped up some fiery red chillies to go with it as being the Malaysian I am, I need heat in my food. Hah!

Our dinner with white wine

That's the sweetish savory sauce in the green bowl. It was quite mild in taste and went really well the the duck and rice.

Pardon the laptop. We were eating and watching TVB series in our living room with the heater on. I must add that the wine kept me warm, too, though it did not really have any impact on J. I am kinda alcohol-intolerant. Haha!

Can you already tell that it was a really enjoyable dinner even though how simple it was? I am a happy gal today.

Recipe: Pasta Carbonara

2007-09-21T12:09:00.000+10:00

Penne Carbonara

We had friends over at our home today. And what is a good way to impress your friends at dinner yet not spending hours in the kitchen while missing out having fun and socializing with your guests? Pasta carbonara, of course. It is easy to make, delicious to eat and filling to the tummy.

I know that there are several ways of preparing pasta carbonara. My method is cooking it all under the stove - while watching the heat carefully. You have to be careful when you add the eggs (make sure you turn off the fire first!) as you do not want to end up having lumps of scrambled eggs in your pasta. Yikes!

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Recipe (for 4):

300g penne
3 cloves garlic
1.5 cup bacon - chopped into squares
1 cup cream
2 egg yolks
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1 cup white wine
1 tbsp oil
salt and black pepper to taste

Method:

1. Boil the penne following the instructions on the packet.
Meanwhile, fry garlic in oil until golden in colour.

2. Add bacon and fry for a couple of minutes.

3. Pour white wine into the garlic and bacon mixture. Let it simmer for a minute.

4. Add the cream and bring it to a boil.

5. Once it boiled, add the pasta.
Stir well to thoroughly coat the pasta with the cream mixture.

6. Add the cheese, salt and pepper to taste. Stir well. Turn off the fire and add the egg yolks. Stir vigorously to ensure that the yolks do not turn into lumps. You should achieve a creamy texture in the end.

Serve warm

Pasta, anyone?

Recipe: Grilled Tomato with Bacon on Toast

2007-09-19T02:31:00.002+10:00

With a sprinkling of parsley

I love tomato. But I don't like them raw. I like cooked tomato in soups, stews and stir-fries, but I will not eat raw sliced tomato in salads. I find that cooked tomato give so much more depth in taste and flavor compared to the uncooked ones, they are often much sweeter and milder to the palate. Or maybe I am just a weird person. Hah!

Grilled tomato worked out just the way I want it. Juicy, sweet and tangy. Even J who doesn't like tomato raved about it. I think it was the effect from the grill and also the parsley which made it so tasty. It had such a refreshing and cleansing taste to the palate.

Add a rasher of bacon along with a warm toast and you end up having a wholesome and tasty breakfast treat. Yummy!

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This is my recipe ( for 2)

Ingredients:

2 tomato - sliced about 1/2 cm
2 slices of bread - toasted
2 rashers of bacon
1/2 teaspoon of parsley
1/4 teaspoon of black pepper
salt to taste

Method:

1. Place sliced tomato on a tray. Season generously with salt and pepper. Place the bacon on the other side of the tray

2. Grill under High Mode for 4-5 minutes until the tomato and bacon are slightly browned on the edges

3. Place a rasher of bacon on each toast. Arrange grilled tomato on top of the bacon. Sprinkle with parsley. Enjoy them right away.

So good

Premium Rump Steak - Juicy and Meaty

2007-09-17T14:25:00.000+10:00

Medium rare premium rump steak

Scenario:

(Coles Supermarket, Meat Aisle)

Bf : What are we having for dinner tomorrow?

Me : Well, we have some beef rendang in the freezer. We could have that. I could prepare
some vege to go with it.

Bf : *looking at steaks longingly* Could we have steaks instead?

Me : But you just had steaks last month!

Bf : Yeah, but that was ages ago. It was 2 weeks since I had one.

Me : Oh, all right. *reach out for premium rump steaks from the shelf*

Bf : *Grins widely*

*************************************************************************************
Scenario:

(The next day at 7pm, kitchen)

Seasoned lightly with cracked black pepper and rosemary

***After 6 minutes on a stove***

Glistening juices

We like ours medium rare

Yummy with buttery potato

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A looong time ago, I must have my steaks well-cooked. Wrong move. The consequences are dry and tough steaks resulting me in asking for more gravy to sort of compensate the lack of juices, which did not help, of course. I remember needing to chew a small piece of meat for about 2 minutes and then forcibly swallow with gulps of water in between *shudders*

However, once I try a medium rare steak, I never looked back since. The result is an extremely juicy and succulent piece of meat. And gravy is never needed. In fact, it's best to eliminate strong sauces as the taste of the steak might be overpowered by the gravy.

Recipe: Stir-fry Fragrant Garlic Stems

2007-09-17T08:55:00.000+10:00

Garlic stems with fried garlic

Garlic Stems.

Does the name sounds intriguing to you? The name of the vegetable already describes the vegetables. They are lovely and sweet - long, thin and absolutely crunchy green stems with subtle hints of garlic flavour.

Have you tried this vegetable before? If you have not, I recommend that you should. It is very tasty. I used garlic stems in my mee siam and they added another dimension to the noodles, somewhat different from the normal and bland long beans.

I know that they do sell it in Malaysia because I saw it in the morning wet markets. I believe that they are imported from China - just like the ones sold here in Melbourne. I introduced the vegetables to my family in Malaysia recently and my brothers love it - and they are both do not like vegetables.

Try it on your loved ones who you think need to eat more vegetables - my guess is that they do not need to be coaxed to eat them (unless they hate garlic, of course.. or they are really, really anti-vegetables. =)

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This is my recipe:

Ingredients:

2 cloves of garlic - chopped finely
200g of garlic stems - sliced into 3 cm
1 tsp Shaoxing wine
1 tbsp water
1 tsp oil
salt to taste

Method

1. Fry garlic in oil until fragrant and golden in colour.

2. Add the garlic stems and mix well.

3. Add water, wine and salt to taste and let it simmer for 3 minutes until cooked.

4. Serve hot with rice

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This dish goes great with white rice. The fragrance of the wine and the sweetness from the fried garlic together with the crunchy vegetables made this an appetizing dish.

You may add fresh prawns to this dish. Prawns and garlic are the perfect match in food heaven. =)

Recipe: Okras with Crispy Chilli Prawns

2007-09-16T15:10:00.000+10:00

Okras (Ladies Finger) with Crispy Chilli Prawns

This is another easy recipe using ready-to-use crispy chilli prawn. They can be found in jars at nearly all good Asian groceries. Mine is from Malaysia. =)

I added garlic and dried prawns for added flavour.

Fresh okras soaking in water

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This is my recipe:

Ingredients:

1.5 tbsp of dried prawns - soaked and dried on paper towel
1/2 tbsp oil
200g of fresh okras (ladies finger) - sliced thinly
1.5 tbsp of crispy chilli prawn
2 cloves of garlic - chopped finely
1 tbsp water
Salt to taste

Method:

1. Fry dried prawns in oil until crispy. Leave aside.

2. Using back the oil, fry the garlic until fragrant and golden in colour.

3. Add the crispy chilli prawn. Stir well for 10 seconds on low heat.

4. Increase the heat to high and quickly add in the okras. Stir well. Add water and let it simmer for 5 minutes until cooked. Add the dried prawns that you had fried earlier. Stir well until all the ingredients mingled together.

5. Serve hot with rice.

Recipe Photolog: Beef Rendang

2007-09-15T14:07:00.000+10:00

Beef Rendang

I love rendang. However, the thought of pounding spices put me off from cooking it the authentic way. On the other hand, that doesn't stop me from making my favourite dish. I mean, why strain your arms pounding spices when there are absolutely delicious ready-to-use rendang pastes in stores waiting to be used for the lazy ones - ie yours truly?

The only spices that I added are onions, ginger, star anise, cinnamon and cardamom pods - all which are available in my pantry. You could omit the spices since the rendang paste is already very flavourful, but I just like the fragrance and taste that comes with it. =)

I also added kerisik, which made the rendang even more flavourful. It also thickened the rendang by about 10 folds, which is what a beef rendang supposed to be like, thick and creamy.

The secret to a tender beef rendang is to boil the beef chunks for 2 hours beforehand. You may reserve the beef stock for another recipe - say, beef soup with vegetables?

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This is my recipe:

Ingredients:

1 kg beef - chopped into bite-size pieces
1 liter of water
1 large brown onion - chopped finely
1 thumb-sized ginger - minced finely
1 cinnamon
1 star anise
4 green cardamom pods
1 packet of ready-to-use rendang paste
400 ml coconut cream (substitute with coconut milk if available)
1/2 cup of desiccated coconut for kerisik

Method:

1. Place the beef in a pot with water. Bring it to a boil. Once it is boiling, lower down the heat until simmering point. Let it simmer for 2 hours until tender.

2. To make kerisik: Toast desiccated coconut in a dry pan on low heat until the colour turns brown. Be very careful as they tend to burn easily. Leave aside.
(The other method would be toasting at 180 degrees celcius in a oven for 20 minutes).

3. Fry onions, ginger, cardamom pods, star anise and cinnamon until fragrant.

4. Add the rendang paste and stir well.

5. Add the chunks of beef. Mix everything well together.

6. Add the coconut cream. Allow it to simmer for 30 minutes until almost dry.

7. Add the kerisik. Mix well and let it simmer for 2-3 minutes.

8. Serve hot with coconut rice. A Malaysian Speciality.

Fork-tender beef rendang.

************

The beef rendang was extremely tasty.. Each morsel was coated with spices and tasted absolutely orgasmic. The kerisik did a very good job in blending the spices all together. As it was very flavourful, we only ate about a quarter of the beef rendang.

I froze one half and keep the other half for tomorrow's consumption. All the better as this will taste even better the next day.

(Sausages), Bacon and Eggs for Breakfast

2007-09-15T09:04:00.000+10:00

What is the best way to greet the man you love on an early Saturday morning? A big breakfast, of course.

It's double of everything. 2 eggs, 2 sausages and 2 rashers of bacon. Twice the calories, lol. But a food blog isn't about dieting and low-fat. Nuh-uh. Bring on the feast, I'd say!!

Big breakfast

Peppered Eggs

Mmm.. Sausages

What's a bacon without fat?

Best eaten with buttered toast and a tall glass of cold orange juice.

And make sure you finish it all up right to the last drop of the golden yolk.

What a way to start the day.

Step-by-Step Recipe: Mihun Siam - Malay Style Fried Noodles

2007-09-13T17:17:00.000+10:00

Mee Siam
-spicy and moreish-

I absolutely adore this noodles. If I were to go to a Malay food vendor and they offer both nasi lemak and mee siam - I will definitely opt for the latter.

This is a relatively easy recipe. The base sauce that I used was sambal ikan bilis which I had made earlier using chilli paste. There was no pounding of spices involved and the flavour was just as authentic as the ones you can find outside.

Here is my recipe:

Ingredients:

1 large brown onion - chopped finely
2 cm ginger - chopped finely
4 cloves of garlic - chopped finely
250g *mihun (*rice vermicilli) - blanched in hot water
2 cups of sambal ikan bilis
1 tbsp belachan paste
100 g of boiled chicken breast - chopped
2 pcs of fish cakes - sliced thinly
150g cabbage - sliced thinly
150g long beans - sliced into 2 cms
2 tbsp oil
1 tsp sugar
Salt to taste

For garnishing (optional):
Omelette - sliced thinly
1 red chilli - sliced diagonally
1/2 cup parsley

Method:

1. Fry onions, garlic and ginger in hot oil until fragrant.

2. Add belachan paste to the mixture.

3. Fry and mix well for 2 minutes on low heat
(be careful because the paste sticks on to the pan easily).

4. Add sambal ikan bilis and mix well. (This only takes a minute
as you only want to heat up the sambal ikan bilis)

5. Add boiled chicken breast.

6. Add cabbages and long beans on top of the chicken pieces.

*By this point, I realised that my pan is too small to hold all the ingredients, and so I transfer them to a wok. *Lol*

7. Mix all the ingredients thorougly on medium heat for 3 minutes.
You may add oil if you find it a bit dry.

8. Add the blanched mihun (rice vermicilli) into the mixture. Add the sugar to balance out the spiciness. Add salt to taste. Now this is the tedious part. Use a spatula or a pair of chopsticks to blend the spicy ingredients into the noodles on low heat. (approximately 8-10 minutes depending on the amount of noodles)

9. Dish out the noodles on a serving platter. Garnish with omellete, chillis and parsely.
Serve immediately.

************************************************************************************

Yummilicious

It is absolute heaven. I made enough for 2 days and it was just as delicious microwaved. The key to this dish is the packet of cili giling I used to make the sambal ikan bilis. Absolutely scrummy.

**Note - I know that those aren't long beans, these vege are from the garlic family (If I am not mistaken). They are crunchy and taste sweet and garlicky. I don't know what they are called, so I just called them long beans .. Haha.

Recipe: Sambal Ikan Bilis

2007-09-13T11:43:00.000+10:00

Sambal Ikan Bilis

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Ingredient:

300g Cili Giling
150g dried *ikan bilis (*anchovies)
1 brown onion - sliced thinly
1/2 tbsp ginger - chopped finely
1 tbsp belachan paste
1/2 cup of water
1-2 tbsp oil
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt

Method:

1. Fry ikan bilis in oil till crispy - this will take about 7 minutes on medium high heat). Dish out and leave aside.

2. Fry onion and ginger until fragrant.

3. Add belacan paste. Stir well for another 4 minutes until fragrant.

4. Add cili giling. Fry for 1 minute until fragrant.

5. Add water and let it simmer for 3 minutes. (You may add more if you wish to have more gravy, I like mine dry)

6. Add the ikan bilis that you have fry earlier. Lastly, add salt and sugar to taste. Stir well and serve hot.

**********

This is my first attempt at making sambal ikan bilis and this is just as good as the ones you can find served outside in Malaysia. I bought the cili giling paste from Jaya Jusco for less than Rm3.

It is very easy to make, spicy and addictive. I highly recommend this recipe to all sambal lovers!!

Flying to Melbourne tomorrow!! nervous

2007-09-10T17:12:00.000+10:00

Hi all!

Sorry for the lack of updates! I've been busy going around, buying stuff and meeting people.

I'll be off to Melbourne via Jetstar tomorrow! And there would be a transit in Sydney with a 6 hours break in between.. how bored will I get, huh? I hope that my Nintendo DS could keep me busy for at least 3 hours.

The worst thing is that I will be flying ALONE. *Sob*

I'm scared of getting lost in Sydney Airport and also the custom officers. What if they don't approve my visa?? What if they confiscate my 'cili giling', dried herbs, honey dates and snacks?? *cold sweat*

Please wish me luck for a safe flight and that I will have no problem with the custom officers..

Till then, the next time I blog will be from the Land of Down Under!!

Wish me luck!!!!

Home-Made Chappatis & Curry Chicken

2007-08-29T18:19:00.000+10:00

"Haih. I missed roti canai and teh tarik-la"

"Wah. The weather so cold now. If only Melbourne got mamak stall, that would be so syiok."

"So hard to make roti canai and tosai on my own.. Here got sell, but so expensive. Cannot eat out everyday and order as much as you like back in Malaysia".

"HAR! You know ar!! In KL, I can order maggi mee goreng, roti telur tambah bawang plus cheese naan only cost less than RM10. Got change somemore! Here order one mee goreng also A$7.90 (approx RM23) already. Eat no full some more. And then teh tarik (A$3 = approx RM 9) they ready made already. Terus pour from the large jug! No buih!! Sakit hati!!"

These are the common complaints you will often heard from Malaysian students in Australia. There would be a moment or two that these conversations will spark out - either with fellow home-sick Malaysian students or on MSN venting their displeasure to family members and friends back home.

Missing mamak food is one thing, but don't know how to make one is another. And even if you managed to find a place serving mamak food (ecstatic joy as if you have found gold treasure), the opening hours are just not right (closed before 10pm. Aisey!! Mamak is for supper what, close so early no point already) and the prices are expensive ($2 for roti canai, $8.90 for nasi lemak with the rice absolute no fragrance of pandan leaves whatsoever).

Eh, what about our fellow uni-mates from India? I mean what is it like for them to come to a foreign country with the national currency even weaker than Malaysia's? They grew up eating spicy curry with chapatis and rice in every meal!! Comparing with eating out in India and ordering Indian food served in Melbourne, there would be a huge difference after converting it to the strong Australian Dollars. Many Australians (or even we, Malaysians) would find that eating out in India would cost next to nothing.

Surely, for them, just like us Malaysian students, would feel that spending $2 on a roti or $3 on a chapatti or $8.90 for a chicken briyarni is much too dear. Even if you got the money and you never think twice paying $6.90 for Dan Dan Mian or $7.90 for Spicy Chicken on Rice, you would still feel somewhat reluctant on spending that much on a particular food when you know you can get the same thing back at home. Especially when back at your national country, it is so much cheaper that everyone can afford to order second or third servings or even pay for the whole table without second thoughts.

Last night at home, J received a call from his friend A, a student from Northern India. He need help in installing a speaker system in his car. Upon arrival, A and his housemate, V (also from India) were cooking dinner. J noticed that they were making chapattis and curry chicken. The smell was enticing. When they invited J to join them for dinner, he accepted it with much enthusiasm. J thought that it was simply marvellous for these bachelor students making their own chapattis and curries .. the sight came as a big surprise because he never thought that they are making such good food like these. He proclaimed that they put up quite a lot of effort in preparing their dinner. And they cook like this quite often!

And so, thanks to A and V's generous hospitality, J got the taste of his beloved country, Malaysia. It is such a wonder that all of them come from different continents of the world and yet share the fondness of the same simple, food. It all fits into the Muhibbah spirit doesn't it? =) Food does bring people together.. Selamat Hari Merdeka, you guys, wherever you are!

And now, to the pics *pics were taken with a phone so they aren't clear. Forgive me! J had not thought of bringing his camera with him.. He didn't know that he's about to have a great dinner!*

Fresh chapattis from the griddle with curry chicken

J had 4 of these wholesome pancakes

A & V - The gracious hosts from Northern India

Spicy Chicken @ Dessert House, Chinatown & The Aftermath

2007-08-28T16:19:00.001+10:00

Spicy Chicken with Rice $7.90

Deep-fried chicken ribs with salt and pepper

The chicken taste as scrummy as it looks. There were plenty of piping hot crispy deep-fried chicken ribs coated with salt, black pepper, garlic, onions and bell peppers - simple but yet very tasty. A rather popular in-house dish (evident from similar dishes on most tables).

As this is an eatery managed by Hong Kong people (please correct me if I am wrong here), I can understand why the food is saltier than what J and I are normally used to. When I was in Hong Kong with my family a few years ago, we noticed that many of the dishes were saltier than the ones served in Malaysia.

Also, when I dined out with my Hong Kong friends in Mlebourne, I noticed that some of them always drizzled a few rounds of soya sauce on their rice even though there's already some on it (as you can see on the pic above). And it never fails to amuse me to watch them do that. LOL

Black pepper reigns supreme

The dish does live up to its name (which is quite a rare occurence here), the liberal amount of cracked black pepper brings the fried chicken to an unprecedented ooopmh, J was glad there's cold water within reach. He walked out a happy customer with a full belly.

Alas! Within a couple of hours, J felt extremely thirsty - an indication of MSG overload. Even while gulping down water between each outburst of overbearing thirst - resulting in bloated belly due to gallons of water intake - the whole ordeal lasted through the night into the early hours next day. It was agonizing. He could hardly sleep that night. =(

Looks like this will be first and last time he would order this dish. On the other hand, Dessert House always serve value-for-money and tasty food, we will definitely be back again as we never encounter much problems with their food before - perhaps we could do well sticking to our old favourites. =)

Dessert House
Mid City Arcade, Chinatown
Melbourne CBD

A Man does Grocery Shopping & Sirloin Steak Recipe

2007-08-24T17:03:00.000+10:00

What's Inside a Man's Grocery Bag?

Throughout the years of studying and living abroad in Australia, J is used to home-cooked food served up fresh and piping hot during lunch and dinner times. There was not one moment where he needs to ponder what ingredients to buy in the market, what to cook and whether there's sufficient nutritious value for the day.

And so, when J had to live alone for 2 months (me being in Malaysia for personal reasons), busy with stressful assignments and natural lack of motivation and interest to cook proper food, he will resort to eating outside or cooking simple food at home.

I will always have to remind him to get enough vegetables and fruits, but he, like most guys out there don't really care much for vitamins and fibre intake, they normally just gobbled up whatever's that looked and smelled good, and for those lads who have to look after oneself, it would be even better if there's less cooking and cleaning up afterwards.

And so, are you interested to see what's inside J's grocery bag while he needs to feed himself? His motto while shopping for food: Must be *senang* / easy to prepare.

All are best accompanied with cold beer

*Man's grub for 2 weeks
2 Mc Cain's frozen pizzas
6 Four & Twenty beef pies
2 packets of Penne
3 jars of Dolmio pasta sauces
4 packets of Arnott's Tasty Jacks
4 fresh beef sirloin steaks

*can lasts longer if cooking involves too much work and resorts to eating out

Oh well. At least there's tomatoes and bits of veges there. Bet you guys would imagine that J is a triple-chinned burly man with protruding belly after seeing the pic, but he's in fact a very lean and active young guy with blessed infinite metabolism. Such is the life of a lad in his early twenties who's used to ready home-cooked food and now has to resort to cook for oneself, eh? My poor darling, I'll be making sure that he'll eat hot rice with 3 dishes when I'm back!! He he.

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Sirloin steaks for 2 (or for 1 very hungry man)

*danger: Meat overload ahead. May cause excessive drooling

J's working diligently on an assignment which is due the next day. All of a sudden, he felt hungry pangs. He had been ignoring the slight tummy rumblings earlier but now he's starving. No wonder, it's 7 pm and he had not eaten anything since morning. Feeling extremely hungry, he went to the kitchen to make himself sirloin steaks that he had bought in the supermarket yesterday. Easy, tasty and fuss-free!

Ingredients:
4 pcs of 150-200g of beef sirloin steaks
4 tbsp of olive oil
salt and freshly cracked pepper

Method:
1. Rub olive oil generously all over the steaks

2. Crack salt and black pepper on steaks to taste
3. Cook for 4 minutes on each side for medium
4. Remove the steaks and place on serving plates
5. Leave to stand for 10 minutes to let juices in the steaks 'settle down' (this is to ensure that
the steaks stay juicy and to avoid juices running out when cut)

Place 2 steaks on a hot pan

Crack fresh black pepper on top

Turn around after 4 minutes on medium heat

Nearly done now

Leave to rest for 10 minutes

Juicy

2 steaks done in 8 minutes for medium-cooked. However, after thinking that he would need to freeze the rest of the steaks (and when he wants to eat it in the future, he would need to let the steaks thaw in room temperature for few hours before he could cook them - as if he got time to plan his meals!!), J got put off and decided to cook the rest! All 4 steaks of it...

Juicy steaks ready to be devoured

Massive and yummy isn't it? The steaks are eaten with swigs of icy cold beer. If I was there, I would serve the steaks with potatoes and greens. But he couldn't really bothered with peeling potatoes and cutting broccoli. Haha. He reckons the steaks aren't as tender as the scotch fillets he had before, but still at least it made the hungry pangs go away.. In the end, he can't finish them, looks like the eyes can eat more than what your tummy can hold - and the dogs got to eat the leftovers.

Lucky them.

Thanks for the pics, dear!

Free lunch at CBD & Spicy Szechuan Noodles

2007-08-22T08:41:00.000+10:00

Coca Cola Lunchbox - cute!

While walking around the city today, J noticed a small crowd in the middle of the street. He saw lots of people walking away carrying a small, bright red box. Bursting with curiosity, he joined the queue and received a red box too. It was in fact, a lunch box containing healthy munchies!!

OoO.. An unfamiliar design

Coca Cola Zero!!

Is it right to consider Coca-Cola Zero as a healthy drink? I mean, it contains zero sugar, so that means less carbs right? Of course, nothing's better than plain water. But ugh, I only like my water cold. I always prefer Diet Coke or Coca Cola Zero (for now, haha) to regular Coke anyway. Always. But restaurants in Malaysia hardly ever offer Diet Cokes anyway, I wonder why, surely there's a market for it? I mean I know that diet soft drinks are more expensive than regular soft drinks in Malaysia but surely one wouldn't mind paying extra few cents for it? I know I wouldn't..

I mean there are more people, especially ladies who are health-conscious nowadays. I'm not sure if I'm contradicting myself by saying diet soft-drinks are better than regular soft-drinks, but for a person like myself who likes sweet, bubbly, gassy drinks (such as Coca-Cola), and be able to enjoy them once a while without feeling guilty, I say let's serve more light soft-drinks in eateries!! Be it mamak stalls, trendy cafes or posh restaurants! Haha.

And no, this is not a paid review of Coca-Cola Zero, although I wish it is.

Pumpkin, egg mayo and salad wrap

J said that the salad wrap was pretty average, but that's because he's not a pumpkin-lover. Still, it's healthy and fresh, what's more the box could be re-used again, such as storing biscuits or sandwishes for pinics.. thus, for the conclusion: Nice!!

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Spicy Szechuan Noodles at Red Silk

Here's yet another review of Red Silk Bar and Restaurant. Can you tell already that this is the ultimate favourite lunch spot for J (for those who have been reading the blog since the very beginning, which was just very recently)? He never gets tired of the food there, even when I tell him to try other eateries in the city because I (means the readers-lah) need more variety! SIGH. Wait till I come back to Melbourne next month, then there will be more food reviews on other eateries.. actually not so much also, maybe more towards my home-cooking, because I like to cook a lot. And eat a lot also. Another big SIGH.

I can understand him also, it was just like how I can never get tired of the nasi lemak stall at my primary and secondary school's canteen, even after eating there nearly everyday (sometimes 2-3 meals a day from the same nasi lemak stall (before class, during recess and after school lunch) for 11 frickin' years. And I still dream about her 'chilli masak kentang goreng' until today. Talking about loyalty man. Old habits die hard. Especially when it revolves around good food. Oh yeah~

Ok, let's get on to the food.

Spicy Szechuan Noodles with Vanilla Ice-cream and Red Beans Drink $7.90
Generous amounts of minced pork in spicy sauce on a bed of springy wanton noodles.

Ice-cream

Doesn't the ice-cream looked luscious? The drink was very rich and creamy ... those with a sweet-tooth will definitely like this one! That is if you like red beans of course... I'm more of a 'pulut hitam - black glutinous rice' gal.

Noodles

What makes this difference with Dan Dan Mian? The salty and sourish preserved pickles. Very appetizing and somewhat refreshing to the tastebuds..

Piles of springy egg noodles - Yummo

Very al-dente, the wanton noodles are of a good quality. Eaten with the saucy spicy pork together with the crunhiness of tangy preserved pickles, it was a wonderful lunch, quite different from the usual Dan Dan Mian and wanton mee with BBQ pork.

Are you bored of Red Silk reviews already? Sorry if you are, but (Oh no, not again!!) there will be more to come. Be patient with me yah? Haha. But for those who got some extra free time and there's nothing better to do, you could read my other reviews on Red Silk...

Seafood Tomyam Noodles
Combination Seafood Noodles

Red Silk Restaurant and Bar
101, 1st Fl 200 Bourke St,
Melbourne 3000
03-9663 9922

P.S.: For those who are really free, and wish to do something good today (haha) maybe you could spend some time helping me on this: I have problems with my photos in blogger. After uploading them straight from my computer, I always find that the pics are blurer than what they are supposed to be. I've tried minimizing the pics, but the pics still look bad. Very frustrating for me. Does anyone know why? What should I do? THANKS!!

Mix Skewers on Hot Stone @ Punt Hill Hotel, Essendon

2007-08-20T14:57:00.000+10:00

Today, J was invited to have a dinner at Punthill Hotel in Essendon by his colleague. He had mix skewers on hot stone.

Pork, beef and chicken skewers with bread rolls and steamed vegetables

The raw skewers of different cuts of meat were placed on a very, very hot stone. It is quite a spectacle... soft pillows of smoke rises with mouth-watering aroma of sizzling meat.

It was very mesmerising and interesting to watch your meal cook in this method, quite similar with Korean BBQ but the difference is that you get to eat from your very own hot stone. It is a very special kinda feeling. Not for sharing, please.

J chose to leave the chunks of beef on its skewer and removed the bite-size pieces of pork and chicken meat to ensure even cooking for to avoid contracting health hazards, just to be on the safe side...

Ooo meat

The meat were marinated lightly with just salt and pepper to ensure that they are not overpowered by spices and sauces. No complains from J, he likes his steaks to be served that way too. He reckons that the beef skewer the best of the trio, juicy and tender. The pork was sadly a bit on the dry side. The morsels of chicken was tasty too but of course, nothing beats a good cut of beef. YUM!

Easy Home-Cooking: Beef Scotch Fillet Steak

2007-08-16T10:19:00.000+10:00

I love Australian meat products. They are always fresh and very tasty. They're not as gamey as the ones in Malaysia. Whenever J or I feel extra carnivorous that day, we will just go to the supermarket nearby and grab some ready-cut steaks. My favourites are T-Bone and Lamb Chops. I love lamb chops!!

Also, it's very easy to prepare steaks - cooking time will vary according to how you want your meat done. Usually, I will cook them for 4 minutes on each side for medium.

Fresh steak on a hot pan

I usually cook the steaks one at a time, mainly to avoid over-crowding the pan for even heat distribution. Not much oil is needed, in fact I merely rubbed the steak with some olive oil and then placed in on the hot pan.

Turned to cook the other side

Sizzling steak.

When the cooking time is nearly over, crack some black pepper and salt on top. Leave it for 10 minutes to let the juices within settle down. If you are impatient and cut into your steak immediately after cooking, the juices will run all over the places and the steak will tend to be dry. Serve it with buttery boiled potatoes and asparagus. *Smacks lips*

Seafood Tomyam Noodles @ Red Silk, Bourke St

2007-08-14T12:41:00.000+10:00

It's back to Red Silk Restaurant & Bar again for their daily lunch specials (one main and a drink for $7.80). This time, J had cravings for seafood and something hot to warm the soul against the cold winter wind and so he chose seafood tom yam noodles. For the complimentary drink, he had red bean with ice-cream.

Seafood tom yam noodles & vanilla ice-cream on red bean beverage $7.80

The drink is very delicious, it could almost be a dessert on its own - sweet and soft, chewy red beans with cold vanilla ice-cream. Very tasty according to J!! I will try to make this at home next time, it seems very simple yet special in a way. Never thought of it, eh?

Red hot chilli alert

Pretty calamari & big prawns

According to J, the noodles are not tongue-numbingly spicy and it had a very nice sweet and sour flavour to it. Therefore, he reckons that people who aren't chilli-tolerated could enjoy this noodles comfortably without the huffy-puffy and sweats that comes with eating spicy food.

YUM

The seafood (prawns, calamaris and fish fillets) and fish cakes are abundant resulting in pleasure equal ratio with the aplenty vermicelli noodles. There were also some fresh tomatoes and baby sweet corns floating around the soup. Pretty good!

I am pretty confident that there will be more food reviews on Red Silk to come.. This is the 2nd review and this blog is barely a month old! Lol. J simply loves this place, for its free drinks and generous servings.

Read my 1st review of Red Silk:

Seafood Combination Noodles, Red Silk.

Red Silk Restaurant and Bar
101, 1st Fl 200 Bourke Street,
Melbourne 3000
03-9663 9922

Tim Tam - Love them, Enjoy them, Want them or Hide them?

2007-08-09T02:54:00.000+10:00

J went to the supermarket recently and immediately noticed the latest limited edition of Tim Tams Originals. Of course, he has to get the Love Potions, too.

I was intrigued by the phrases on the packaging and found these very interesting info on their website.

And so, I decided to do a Tim Tams test:

1. Love me

"The majority (52%) of Tim Tam lovers enjoy doing the Tim Tam Slam where the biscuit is used as a straw to drink coffee or port"

Verdict: Have not try that method before. So, no, I don't love you, Tim Tams. *but that's not fair because I really like to eat you!*

2. Enjoy Me

"50% of consumers choose to eat the last Tim Tam in the packet before anyone else does, while only 17% will share it with family or friends"

Verdict: I'm the 17%

3. Want Me

"64% of consumers eat their Tim Tam biscuits on the same day they buy them"

Verdict: YUP. On the other hand, we don't eat 'em all since we always buy in bulk when there's
sales.

4. Hide Me

"Many consumers go to extremes to hide their Tim Tam biscuits from others…inside the crisper draw in the refrigerator, the laundry basket, the freezer, the car, in a desk drawer, in the bedroom, and even in the safe!"

Verdict: Not me. Lol, who in the mighty world would keep chocolate biscuits in the safe?

Sigh. It seems that I fall in neither of the categories. What a slap on the face, and I thought I love them.

Now, which one are you?

Dessert House, Chinatown

2007-08-01T08:13:00.000+10:00

Contrary to its name, regular customers frequent the restaurant not for desserts but for satisfyingly delicious Chinese meals.

Lemongrass Chicken on Rice $7.90

Yet another popular Chinese eatery in the heart of CBD, this restaurant is packed with young university Asian students - all the time.

Why? Really simple really.

That the food is good and cheap.

And that, is all that matters. =D

It is a norm for the waiters/waitresses to take away your unfinished drinks and meals if they think you have been there for a 'reasonably long time'. This is to accommodate new hungry customers who are queueing outside during busy lunch/dinner hours. Be prepared to gobble up your food and leave fast!

Pan-fried Lemongrass Thigh Fillet Chicken, Fried Egg and Shallots
with White Rice

The chicken is extremely juicy and tasty. It is well-marinated, fully infused with lemongrass flavour. Not only that, it is a rather generous piece of chicken fillet and there were plenty of white rice to go with it.

Absolutely delicious.

Crispy Fried Egg on Rice Drizzled with Soy Sauce

There's also a delightful complementary fried egg with the meal. It is just an added bonus, like chicken drumsticks in curry laksa. boiled eggs in curry puffs and omelette in nasi lemak. One do not expect it to come with the meal, but will accept most willingly and happily when served.

It is a great place to have your fix of comforting Chinese meal, but do keep in mind that you will need to finish your food quickly during busy hours.

Dessert House
Mid City Arcade, Chinatown
Melbourne CBD

Red Silk, Bourke Street

2007-08-01T06:45:00.000+10:00

Red Silk Restaurant and Bar is J's favourite spot during lunch simply because of its affordable price yet big servings of food.

The menu mainly consists of Chinese one-dish meals (ie stir-fry on rice, stir-fry with noodles, etc) for easy decision-making and quick no-fuss tummy-filling for Asian students who are the main patrons here.

One day, after my class in the city, I came here with my friends for lunch. I wanted something with seafood and so Combination Seafood Noodles is the one to go.

Combination Seafood Noodles $8.90

As you would have noticed in the pictures, the noodles are a bit burnt on the edges giving it a slight bitterish and dry texture. Sauce would have save the noodles but alas, there are none to be seen.

Big red prawn

However, the combination seafood stir-fry is delicious. There are soft, juicy chicken tenderloins, calamaris, fish cakes, fresh prawns and plenty of bok-choys. Yummy!

* Note to Malaysians* Not only the steaks here are humungous, the Asian food served here are massive too. If you are a small eater, this plate of noodles could be split among two people and would satiate them satisfactorily.

Red Silk Restaurant and Bar
101, 1st Fl 200 Bourke Street Melbourne 3000
03 9663 9922

Ruby, Maribrynong

2007-07-31T04:39:00.000+10:00

Ruby is a large pub located at Highpoint Shopping Centre, Maribrynong. It attracts a lot of uni students and families because of its "Parma Promotion" on Monday and Tuesday nights. Parma Promotion (Chicken Parmagiana) starts at 6 pm and the price corresponds with the time.

i.e. 6 pm - A$6.00
7 pm - A$7.00
8 pm - A$8.00 *and so on*

Interesting, isn't it? I wonder if there are such promotions in Malaysia...

I believe the normal price for a Chicken Parmagiana is $15.90, therefore it is a definite good value. Its very normal for pubs around Australia to have cheap food to attract customers because they then made it up with beers and drinks.

And so, J and I went there one Monday night at 5.55pm to take advantage of the A$6 meals. Heh. Already, there were a number of uni students around the lounge chatting and playing pools. I guessed that they have already placed their orders since I noticed drinks on their tables.

We placed 2 orders of Chicken Parma and a beer for J with a total bill of $15.50 at the bar. The barman then gave us a small metal stand with our number on top to bring it to our table. As we were chatting at our table, the waitresses soon bring out the parmas from the kitchen.

They were carrying 2 plates on each arm - serving 3-4 plates at a time to keep up with many hungry diners (mostly big, young uni guys).

Chicken Parmagiana for a mere $6

These meat were gigantic. J and I happy that they did not skimped out on ingredients but deep down inside, I was a little nervous because I do not think that I could finish it all.

Chicken Parmagiana on a bed of Chips with Salad

Oh, these were delicious!! These schnitzel were first pan-fried and then topped with napoli sauce and cheese and baked in the oven till the cheese melted. I took my my first bite and could taste the meaty juicy chicken - slightly tangy with tomato sauce and the rich taste of cheese. Topped up with hot cripsy chips with soft centre, eaten with dollops of ketchup, they are absolute scrumptious. The salad is dressed with simple balsamic vinegar and olive oil giving it a fresh taste. There were rockets, lettuce, onions and tomatoes. Simply refreshing!

My unfinished schnitzel

But, alas! Halfway through my meal, my tummy had expanded to to the size of a basketball and I decided to call it quits. Half a shitzel was left uneaten on my plate. J, on the other hand, finished his meal but had to waddle slowly back to the car due to being too full. It was a great dinner and is one of my favourites now. But next time, I will remember to fast the whole day first.

Ruby
Level 1 Highpoint Shopping Centre, Maribyrnong, 3032.

Feast Malaysia? Or Rather, Feast Australia?

2007-07-30T03:37:00.000+10:00

Hello everybody.

I'm sure that you have noticed that the posts contradict with the name of this blog. Forgive me because I have spent a good number of years in Melbourne studying, cooking at home and eating out alternately. Thus, I've collected food photos based on Australia, not Malaysia.

In fact, I am going back to Melbourne very soon for personal reasons, just for a couple of months though.

So, for those who come here in the hope of viewing mouth-watering Malaysian dishes (which indeed they are - yummy!), I am sincerely sorry that it wouldnt be the case as I will keep posting more on Australian food as I have a vast number of photos and review that I would like to share with you!! I might throw in a couple of home-cooked food every now and then - part of being a student overseas is to learn how to cook because of being in a tight budget.

Hope you still enjoy reading my blog!

Sydney Trip - Part 3 (Seafood Galore)

2007-07-28T16:41:00.000+10:00

Fisherman's Market is a must place to go in Sydney, whether for makan session purpose or sight-seeing (mostly for the former). It is crowded on most days, mostly with tourists but often locals would also go there to purchase fresh seafood. On weekends, you would need to wait at least 15 minutes to get a seat.

Fresh oysters still in their whole shells. Not for long though.

The main attractions are the oysters, I reckon. Dozens are snatched up by tourists and locals alike.

There's a man at a stall whose sole job is to pry open the fresh oysters shells. He did it very quickly and efficiently, just like when you watch those Aunties packing nasi lemak into little triangles in lighting speed. Only this time it does not involves santan rice and sambal but oysters.

Freshly Shucked Sydney Rock Oysters

Sydney is famous for its oysters, namely Sydney Rock Oysters. They are firm favourites among maaany Aussies because of its sweet flesh. My bf loooooves them.

One dozen of Sydney Rock Oysters
"Now you see them"

I don't really care for oysters, mostly because I'm not keen on eating raw food. On the other hand, with a squeeze of fresh lemon, J (bf) slurped them down in seconds. He claimed heartily that they were absolutely sweet and has a very definite taste of the sea.

"Now you don't"

An obviously skilled fishmonger filleting a massive tuna. For a fish that size, the fishmonger only took a few minutes to behead it, debone and separate it into fillets. It is amazing to watch him do it.

Artistically arranged lobsters

Ahh... if you think I've missed out on the oysters, I made it up for the lobsters. Heh. Pre-boiled lobsters are vivid orangey-red in colour casting hunger spells among many customers. The business owners were having a brisk sales. These lobsters are selling like hot cakes.

They are everywhere!!

Sweet and fleshy, these lobsters are reasonably priced - $19.80 for half/kg and 39.90 per kg. We had half each and had no problem finishing them, leaving only the vibrant shells behind.

Seafood set with half a lobster, prawns, mussels and salad.

Seafood set with half a lobster, half a dozen of oysters and salad for A$19.00. We got one of these. Very reasonably priced indeed.

Salmon caviar

Oh my, look at those roe. Look at the wonderful wonderful orangey colour it vibrates to the surrounding. The most vivid orange that you would ever see would be on these fresh caviar.

The day ended after tucking into lobsters, oysters, calamaris, prawns and scallops. It was a truly wonderful seafood-y day. If you ever happen to go to Sydney, do hop by Fisherman's Market and be prepared to have a great feast.

Sydney Trip - Part 2 (Takoyaki & Starbucks)

2007-07-28T10:57:00.000+10:00

Can't wait to see those transformed into cute balls of yum

While we are still tucking into the warm hontous, our attentions were diverted to the takoyaki stall right next door to the hontou stall. This time, it was manned by a young Japanese lady.

It was very interesting to watch. First she will pour the rather thin liquid mixture (I would thought it would be quite thick, like cake mixture.. it was like corn flour mixture that you use to thicken gravy) containing chopped carrots and shallots into each slot.

While the mixture is cooking in the hot grill, she will add small bites of octopus tentacles or whole prawns into each slot. For a good 10 minutes, she will turn them several times to ensure that they are evenly browned.

The left and middle side as shown on the photo contains octopus. The far right which she was handling contains prawns (if you look carefully, you would see the tails poking out). Great way to attract customers, those tails.

We had 3 of each (prawns and octopus). She squirts some mayo, sweet dark sauce and sprinkled bonito flakes (my fav!). The insides are surprisingly gooey, which results in hot liquid pouring out once you bite into them. Hmmmm, I would have thought that it would be chewy since the cooking time do take quite some time. Do they need extra cooking time or is this the authentic way that these balls should be done? They're tasty nonetheless. *shrugs*

Double Chocolate Chip Ice Blended & Green Tea Ice Blended

Eating all those made us thirsty. I've got a coupon for Starbucks Coffee (buy 1 free 1) from the brochure of the hotel we were staying at. We don't have to search long. There were literally like 20 Starbucks cafes all over the city.

OMG. The chocolate one is sooooo delish.. It is wickedly thick, chockful of bits of chocolates, each slurp has to be chewed in order to swallow the big chunks of chocs. They were very generous with the choc chip and the drink does live up to its name. The green tea was just as delish, sweet with a slight bitter after taste. The cream made the drink even richer, sinful but ohh... so nicee. I couldn't find these drinks in Malaysia - not with the same generous and thick concoctions.

We had a very wonderful day, snacking along the way and did some sight-seeing. It was a great holiday (I'll never get tired of Sydney). More to come soon - seafood next (freshly shucked oysters, lobsters, etc..)

Sydney Trip - Part 1 (Hontou/Dorayaki Street Stall)

2007-07-28T09:07:00.000+10:00

Recently I've graduated and am back in Malaysia after spending many years in wonderful Land of Down Under. While I was studying in Melbourne (5 years), I took the opportunity to travel around Australia during uni breaks - taking advantages of cheaper flights and student rates. Sydney's one of my favourites, and thats why I've been there 3 times. Lol.

Sydney Opera House and Sydney Bridge

So, therefore I thought that it would be appropriate that the first couple of posts of my blog shall be on the centre of the biggest city of Australia - a cosmopolitan city which offers a rich diversity of food.

As we (bf and I) were staying near Darling Harbour, it is only inevitable that we will be walking along the streets of Chinatown looking for cheap and delicious food (We find that Sydney offers a much more variety of food for bigger servings and at lower prices than the ones in Melbourne).

Our atttention were immediately drawn upon a young chap who was making Hontous, behind a large window display. which we delightfully associated it with the famous Dorayaki in Doraemon.

Left to right: Cheese, Red Bean and Green Tea

We tried both cheese and red bean hontous as we don't really like the slight bitter taste that is usually associated with green tea. They were an absolute delight, slightly crispy on the outside with chewy soft centre. In the middle would be the savoury melting cheese or the sweet red bean.

It is goooood.

Now I know why Doraemon seems to be addicted to them.

Feasta Fiesta

Camp Food - Lamb chops in the forest

Recipe: Shrimp Egg Foo Yong / Prawn Omelette

Oven-baked pork spare ribs with crispy garlic

Recipe: Chicken Rendang

Bacons, Eggs and Sausages for Breakfast

Juicy, sweet corns on cobs

Recipe: Long beans with Sambal Belachan

Recipe: Creamy Spaghetti with Pork Sausages and Mushrooms

Scones and Hot Chocolate at Miss Marple's Tea Room, Sassafras

OOPS. Blog comments gone!!

Recipe: Braised Pork Belly with Boiled Eggs

Step-by-step Recipe: Bolognese Sauce

Recipe: Bechamel Sauce

Beef Pie and Pepperoni Salami

Recipe: Lou Shu Fan (Rat Tail Noodles)

The Royal Melbourne Show

Roast Duck with Fragrant Garlic Rice

Recipe: Pasta Carbonara

Recipe: Grilled Tomato with Bacon on Toast

Premium Rump Steak - Juicy and Meaty

Recipe: Stir-fry Fragrant Garlic Stems

Recipe: Okras with Crispy Chilli Prawns

Recipe Photolog: Beef Rendang

(Sausages), Bacon and Eggs for Breakfast

Step-by-Step Recipe: Mihun Siam - Malay Style Fried Noodles

Recipe: Sambal Ikan Bilis

Flying to Melbourne tomorrow!! *nervous*

Home-Made Chappatis & Curry Chicken

Spicy Chicken @ Dessert House, Chinatown & The Aftermath

A Man does Grocery Shopping & Sirloin Steak Recipe

Free lunch at CBD & Spicy Szechuan Noodles

Mix Skewers on Hot Stone @ Punt Hill Hotel, Essendon

Easy Home-Cooking: Beef Scotch Fillet Steak

Seafood Tomyam Noodles @ Red Silk, Bourke St

Tim Tam - Love them, Enjoy them, Want them or Hide them?

Dessert House, Chinatown

Red Silk, Bourke Street

Ruby, Maribrynong

Feast Malaysia? Or Rather, Feast Australia?

Sydney Trip - Part 3 (Seafood Galore)

Sydney Trip - Part 2 (Takoyaki & Starbucks)

Sydney Trip - Part 1 (Hontou/Dorayaki Street Stall)

Flying to Melbourne tomorrow!! nervous