a feast, everyday

Tomita Farm @ Nakafurano

2009-09-11T13:28:00.002+08:00

I have had so much trouble in putting out this post and the only reason was too many pictures to choose from. It took a long time to decide which to post. It is all about flowers, flowers and more flowers. We went totally head over heel in love with this place and I think for once none of us were complaining about hunger as our senses were so filled with the wonders of colors and scents.

From Furano we took the JR sightseeing 'Norocco-go' train to the special 'Lavender Station' which only operates during the summer months.

An old steam train but refurbished into a very quaint automobile made this short trip very disneyland-like.

The sunflower field along the Furano-Narafurano route.

This station only operates during the two summer months, June and July.

Only the Norocco-go train stops here. If taking a normal JR train, get off at Naka Furano station and it takes about 25 minutes to walk to the farm.

About three minutes walk from the Lavender Station will bring you to Tomita Farm, a paradise for all flowers lovers.

Entrance to the farm is free and you can wander around at your own pace. Besides the flower fields, there are many other attractions like the Hanabito House, Dried Flowers House, Potpourri House, Perfume House, Green House and a distillery workshop.

These were the first flowers that greeted us. Despite the rainy weather and cloudy sky, it gladdened our hearts to see such a lovely sight.

This is the most well known image of this farm - the rainbow field which is created by rows of different flowers and herbs planted on a gentle rolling hill. This image is made famous when they were used in the nationwide Japan Railway calender.

The wheat plants created a golden hue for the rainbow field.

These provided the lilac shade,

Another shade of purple.

And a sea of white.

The entire farm was blanketed in rainbow colors and the air perfumed with the most relaxing and refreshing fragrance of the lavender.

Lavender bushes in a field was mesmerizing, visually and aromatically, felt like I have arrived in heaven. It was a feast for the eyes, mind and soul.

I felt we arrived at the farm a week too late as the lavender were beginning to wilt and ready to be harvested.

But I managed to find a few newly bloomed stalks. Individually, a stalk of lavender exudes exquisite aura and delicate sweetness. An amazing display of wonder of nature but such short life span...

Caught this young budding photographer in action. He was so totally engrossed with his endeavor, he didn't realize I was shooting him. The flowers do have that effect on most of us...

Except for these two beauties who were happily competing with the blooms...

Every shrub was shown the same tender loving care by the hundreds of workers scattered all over this farm.

Young lavender plants for sale. So tempted to bring home one but knew it would not survive our environment here in Malaysia.

A green house in the farm that enables visitors to witness the beauty of the lavender bloom even in the cold winter month.

Looking out from the greenhouse.

The many beauties in the greenhouse.

This trip would not be complete without shopping... the potpourri house.

Amazing display of dried flowers and plants.

Dried flowers wreaths and things.

Bouquet of dried lavender for about 1500 yen.

Look what I found!

and me too....

And many other spin-off products of lavender.

Another famous produce of Hokkaido and also of Tomita farm... the rock melons.

Ultra sweet and succulent... definitely lived up to it's reputation and price.

Sweet sweet indulgence...rock melon ice-cream

and lavender ice-cream.

A simple lunch but one of the best potato croquette I have ever had.

These and...

these to further brighten your day!

Have a lovely weekend.

Daisetsuzan, Hokkaido

2009-08-24T13:28:00.001+08:00

Mui Fong did most of the research for places of interest n Hokkaido before we set off. She insisted on visiting this National Park. She read that this place is most beautiful in Summer and coldest in winter.

We took a train from Furano to Asahikawa, the second largest city after Sapporo in Hokkaido. From there we hopped on to a bus at Asahikawa JR Station which took us for a scenic one and a half hour ride to Asahidate Station.

Daisetsuzan (big snow mountains) is the largest national park in Japan. This park comprises of a group of mountain ranges which includes Mt. Asahi, the tallest mountain in Hokkaido .

We took the ropeway to the Sugatami Station which cost 2800 yen per person.

Mt. Asahidake. A breathtakingly rugged beautiful mountain. It is the highest peak in this mountain range. The term 'dake' is used instead of 'san' as in Fujisan is for this very reason as it is not a 'lone' mountain. It takes about two days to hike to the summit. Apparently it is not a difficult climb but the weather can be very fickle and temperature is known to dip suddenly. Just a few days before we were there, there was a group of hikers who lost their way and by the time they were found, ten died. Weather in the mountain changes very quickly and one has to be very well prepared.

Evidence of volcanic activity.

Steam activitiy.

Closest we could go to these sulfurous vents called fumaroles.
A bell to warn of any unusual volcanic activity.

Parts of the 60 minutes circular trail that begins at the ropeway's upper station.

1st view point of the trail.

Beautiful alpine plant along the trail.

These alpine flora are small but so, so exquisitely vibrant in their colors and shapes.

Maybe they sensed the fleetingness of summer and want to make the most of it.

These amazing beauties are found peeking from every nook of the rocky range.

'Husband and wife' ponds

We encountered about five of these lovely pristine ponds along the 1.7 circular path.

Furano, Hokkaido

2009-08-17T13:28:00.000+08:00

The place where we stayed in Furano for the first two nights is called Pension Furanui. Located at the foothill of the Kitanamine ski resort and gondola station (about 5 minutes walk). About 10 minutes taxi ride from Furano train station. Location was ideal but the rooms were spartan, just 2 beds with rather thin mattresses and it cost 6900 yen per person with no meals. We had to open the window in our room to air it as there was strong cigarette smell. I won't return to stay in this place but I love the area surrounding it and would certainly return to stay if ever get another chance to visit Hokkaido. The reason we chose to stayed in Furano is because of its proximity to two destination we wanted to visit.

There are abundance of lodgings to choose from.

Even back packers lodges.

This is the gondola station for the skiers in winter.

The ski tracks are at these hills behind the station.

It is a very picturesque area. Reminded me of how our Kinabalu National Park could have looked like if we had taken more care of the natural environment of the place when building infrastructures.

A small lavender farm 2 minutes walk from where we stayed.

Viewed from the terrace of another hotel.

Lavender bushes. It's everywhere here in Furano at this time of the year. These were found near a temple.

A small temple a stone throw away from Furanui.

A very quaint 'soto' cafe. Don't think they serve soto ayam though.

I am as crazy about flowers as I am about food. This is the first one I am posting but definitely not going to be the last. Hokkaido at this time (summer) is a heaven bursting with beautiful flowers... I have more flowers shots than food shots taken here in Hokkaido.

Second one and counting...

After the rain... it rained almost the whole time we were in Hokkaido. The rain we encountered here was very pleasant. It drizzled like fine mist, very lightly and very softly but continuously.

One more for the road... These were all taken in Furano near where we stayed.

Otaru, Hokkaido

2009-08-11T20:03:00.013+08:00

Otaru is a harbour city about half hour train ride north-west of Sapporo. It reminds me of KK, our home town but of course, a much cleaner version. It has a beautiful canal lined by old warehouses.

This has now become one of my favorite cities in Japan which you will later find out why. On this Hokkaido trip, this place was the only destination we visited twice for a very specific purpose. So glad we didn't follow a tour group.

These buildings used to be warehouses but are converted into stylish cafes and restaurants. The canal was used by barges but now is just a scenic tourist attraction.

One of the many artists displaying and selling his version of this canal.

He featured every season of the canal.

These medieval looking couple blended in perfectly with the surrounding. They were plying some intricately hand-made bicycle models in wire.

And this young man who so obliging posed for me,

works one of these trishaws for tourists who don't like to walk.

Met this couple who travel in style. Note the sizes of the bikes. His and hers Harley's?

We found this place quite by accident. After walking around the city and thought we had seen enough we headed back to the station area. Right next to the left of station was a 100 yen shop and we thought we'd take a look. Then something else caught our attention a few meters away...

We saw this entrance to a market place and as you know, we can never walk away from any market place without getting a sniff of the food stuffs.

This was what awaited us in this small one lane market. We hit mother lode of seafood!!!!

These and...

These...We were like children let loose in a candy store when we saw these endless glorious seafood.

Dried scallops

Dried seaweed

Live oysters, clams and more...

Scallops! 11 pieces for 1000 yen, less than 100 yen each.

Every stall we passed offered these yummy tasting stations.

Then we spotted these swimming in huge tanks.

This is THE reason we came to Otaru twice. No, not because of Betty, it was that crustacean she was holding. Hokkaido famous king crab.

This one cost 5000 yen which translated to ~ Rm180 and worth every single sen/yen. They are best eaten plain boiled.

This has to be the best crab meat I have ever had in my entire life. Sweet with a touch of sea saltiness, succulent, firm and of a smooth texture. It was the dish I dreamed about the whole time when we were traveling around Hokkaido.

So, on the day we were to leave Sapporo for Tokyo, we headed here again for another feast. Knowing that we may not be back here again for a long long time we sampled almost everything there was on display.

This stall has only two dining tables.

This was what we had in this heavenly market beside the king crab...

Grilled scallop was very good but...

Sashimi scallop was even better. Every morsel was a fresh crunchy sweetness and a to-die-for taste of the sea...

Another two different crabs we tried. Both were good but nothing compares to the king crab in flavor and texture.

But I love these roe found in this red spiky crab.

A lesson in cracking open a crab. The shells of these are unlike those of our water. They are much thinner and softer, so much easier and faster to get to the meat.

Smoked fish marinated in wine.

Don't know the name of this fish but it was the best grilled fish ever. It had a texture very much like frog meat but creamier.

It looked like this before it was cooked. Its dorsal fins open out like wing.

Hubby saw this post in the making and decided this is THE place in Hokkaido he most wanted to visit...I have offered to be his tour guide!

Tokyo Station

2009-08-08T14:28:00.004+08:00

I Love all the train stations in Japan. Especially Nagoya, Kyoto and Osaka. They have the most amazing shopping facilities anywhere. Tokyo station, one of the busiest railway stations, is no different. We had to take the shinkansen from here to Sapporo and we had a few hours to 'spare' trans:shop.

What better way to kill time.........

Mui admiring her newly purchased bag. In with the new, out with the old. See that poor bag on the floor? : (

Waiting for our train to Sapporo.

Pre-elementary school children on a field trip.

Very disciplined, two-by-two and holding hands. Their little hats made me look twice, sooo cute.

This shinkansen took us from Tokyo to Hachinoche which is one of the northernmost cities of Honshu island in less than 3 hours (2 hours and 50 minutes to be exact). To compare how fast the shinkansen travels, the same distance by car would take 8 hours. From here we transferred to another train to Aomori, an hour ride. From Aomori we travelled to Sapporo in 7 hours and 25 minutes. Traveling through the night, we didn't get to see any scenery.

My lunch before the long journey. Ebi tempura with soba and some sushi. The leaf-wrapped bundles were mackerel sushi. I wasn't able to photograph my sisters' meals as they had 'dug' in before I could get my camera ready.

We had a lot of these bento meals bought at stations. Very convenient, economical and filling when traveling.

Asakusa @ Tokyo

2009-08-06T19:28:00.003+08:00

The Kaminari-mon (gate)

My one and only visit to Asakusa was on my first trip to Japan in 1984. I never had a chance to re-visit during the subsequent trips. We decided to go again as Pit Fung had never been there before.

I remembered an old temple with a huge container burning incense giving out lots of smoke up front and a few small stores selling souvenirs along the pathway leading to the front door of the temple.

What greeted me was totally different from what I remembered. There were endless stores selling everything imaginable stretching from the Kaminari-mon gate right up to the Senso-ji (the temple).

With many side alleys too.

A stall selling nothing but umbrellas.

I remembered buying these on my first trip here. Don't think I have ever made good use of them though.

Maybe I should get this lovely casual kimono this time. Only about 3,000 yen (i remember my first trip here when the exchange rate was Rm1 to 100 yen - this outfit would have cost only about Rm30!).

Hand-made traditional azuki bean paste buns.

Pretty ladies selling green tea.

Needless to say, all these distractions took us hours to walk the short stretch of Nakamise-dori to reach the Senso-jo.

Finally saw the sign of the Senso-jo ...

The temple looked totally brand new to me even after 25 or more years. There must be an on-going refurbishing program.

The five-story pagoda next to the temple.

Anyway, we took one short tour round the temple, headed back to the enticing stalls and continued with the 'worshipping'.

Tsukiji Fish Market @ Tokyo

2009-08-03T20:32:00.006+08:00

We had a day in Tokyo before going up north. I have always wanted to see the tuna auction here in one of the biggest wholesale fish markets in the world, so Tsukiji fish market was the obvious first choice.

We were staying in Shinjuku and the evening before had planned the subway route to the market. We left the hotel at 5 am but didn't count on how complicated and disorientating it would be for first timers navigating the Shinjuku subway station. Cut a long story short, we didn't make it to the auction in time, we arrived a little past 6 am and only witnessed the frenzied zig zagging of the turret trucks whizzing out of the auction with their catch of the day. I am optimistic that I will return in the not too distant future (better still with hubby) to fulfill this dream.

Luckily for us we did manage to witness the amazing skill in carving a whole tuna.

It took these two men a good 5 minutes to get the head off this fresh tuna.

The older man (obviously the more experienced) slit the fish right in the center lengthwise.

He passed the long blade to the younger man who cut deeper into the slit and eventually a quarter (lengthwise) of the fish came off cleanly.

This shot from another stall paints a clearer picture. Look at the blade used. It was about 1.5 meter in length and looked super sharp.

Here it took three men to complete the job.

I wonder what they do with these left-overs? I know for sure they do not waste any parts of the fish.

Three of the many blades used to fillet the tuna.

The flesh was then carefully trimmed and voila, sashimi to go.

Did witnessed an auction in progress...

For gingko nuts.

To make the most of the rest of the day we went round the whole market and the area surrounding it, we discovered there were much more to this market than just tuna auction.

Seafood section

Vegetable section

Household

Knives

With sharpening service too.

And of course, the food.

A sashimi don with delicious crab meat. Pit Fung finally became a sashimi convert after this meal.

Assorted sushi.

This place was Disneyland to me and it was hard to leave.

Japan, Once Again

2009-08-01T18:18:00.002+08:00

Hi and thanks to all who visit this blog. I am very sorry for missing in action for soo long again. I know I am way behind in my posting as I have yet to get to my trip to NYC, the big apple and Stockholm in late June after the trip to Auckland.

Got back two days ago from Tokyo and is still busy editing the 2000 plus pictures taken mostly in Hokkaido.

This Hokkaido trip was conceived last year after my 3 sisters came back from a trip to Takayama, Japan and caught the Japanese fever. They couldn't and wouldn't stop talking about Japan. So crazy and so determined to visit Japan again that two of them bought their return tickets to Tokyo last year during a Malaysia Airlines promotion for July this year!

I have been to Japan many times before but always with tour groups. So when asked to travel on our own across Japan, although very tempting and challenging, I was very apprehensive as none of us speak nor understand Japanese (not even minimal, except for thank you and excuse me). Anyway, thanks to the wonderful world of technology, especially the internet, we did our homework - a thorough study of the public transport system in Japan... but we still don't speak a word of Japanese...

Anyway, armed with this magic railway pass, maximal optimism and bare minimal baggage we set off from Kota Kinabalu direct to Tokyo. In the coming posts I will do my best to showcase all the highlights of our journey and I hope to be able to do justice to the amazing beauty of Hokkaido's summer. Stay tuned...

Christmas In June @ Auckland

2009-07-22T21:30:00.001+08:00

With the cold weather and most of the family around (alas minus Heather and Bryan), it felt like christmas to me. Then, there was this enticing honey glazed slab of ham I could not resist when we visited the local supermarket, The Foodtown.

A very yummy hummus dip for appetizer.

One of my favorite fruits, cherries and grapes for dessert.

Ham accompanied by some pan-fried gourmet potatoes and fresh salad. Soooo good. Merry christmas :p

Pho @ Auckland

2009-07-19T21:39:00.003+08:00

Dry pho

Starr and Zoe (starr's cousin from Hanoi) decided to cook pho for this family who is crazy about Vietnamese food (or any food for that matter). They chose not to do the soupy pho as that would be too tedious (utensils and ingredients wise). The dry pho is much easier to do and very refreshing to eat, said Starr. As we have not tasted dry pho before (to me, pho means one thing and one thing only ie gloriously fragranced beef soup), we eagerly and very patiently waited for this dish as each item was prepared and laid on the table.

The two girls were super efficient and I only get to help with crushing the peanuts.

Thinly sliced meat marinaded lightly with chopped garlic, freshly ground black pepper and fish sauce. Stir-fried quickly over high heat to medium rare...yummz.

According to Starr, her grandma's recipe stipulates not less than 300g of beef per person for this dish! There certainly wasn't any objection to that, especially with such wonderful beef here in NZ.

When all the ingredients are ready, each get to concoct his/her own dish to suit one's palate much like the home-made fresh nyonya popiah.

It was a wonderful meal and like Starr promised, it was very refreshing but I am still partial about the steaming hot soupy pho...

Movenpick Ice Cream @ Auckland

2009-07-13T13:28:00.002+08:00

After the car-breaking-in episode, we all agreed we needed something sweet to help brighten up the rest of the day and this ice cream paradise was the perfect place.

We went crazy with so many flavors to choose from. Finally we decided on these awesome combination. These were easily one of the creamiest and smoothest ice cream I ever tasted. And the flavors were incredible. See the waffle cones? They were handmade fresh daily. Very tasty and crispy on it's own. I was told that all the ingredients used were natural, no coloring or preservatives.

Most gorgeous pecan pie with a rum n raisin ice cream to die for. My choice and I am still drooling over it. Hot pie with ice cream - my favorite things in life.

Tony's Lord Nelson's @ Auckland

2009-07-09T23:34:00.002+08:00

A lovely light, fruity and sweet sparkling wine from Italy set the mood for a wonderful evening.

A must for K and the first for Keshia and Leanne. Keshia didn't take to them but Leanne, like father like daughter, couldn't get enough.

Rib-eye fillet steak.

Fillet mignon with mushroom sauce.

Deep-fried camembert cheese. Very well done with crispy outside and soft oozy inside.

Tony's Lord Nelson's steak house at Victoria Street.

No frills, just simply one of the best meat ever, perfectly done in all our orders. Tender, juicy and full-bodied flavor. K reckoned it is better than Angus Steak House... maybe but I do need to re-sample Angus Steakhouse as it was more than two decades since the last time I ate there and memories are short these days.

Auckland In June

2009-06-18T03:20:00.000+08:00

Auckland city viewed from a cruise ship

Hi, I would like to thank everyone who visits this blog for your patience and kind words during my long, long siesta.

We were in Auckland during the most recent two-weeks school holiday to see Don as he has not been home for more than a year. It isn't quite the right season in Auckland for visit as it is winter now but it was the only time Leanne and her daddy could get off and we missed the koko so much...

We were there for about 9 days and the initial plan to drive around North Island was shelved after a car break-in at the Mission Bay park on the very next day we arrived. Of all places in the world, Auckland was one place I thought was very safe...

Anyway, the weather was too wet and cold to entice us to any form of sightseeing. So, we ended up doing nothing but shopped, cooked and ate and ate and ate...It was kind of a dream holiday - very relaxing and stress-free. Lots of board games and books...

Did managed to squeeze in a cruise or two and this one round the Auckland harbour saw only this group of crazy Asian braving the chilly weather in the entire tour. Three crews to five passengers - like we chartered the whole cruise ship!

Hubby found his dream tom yam here in Auckland at Food Alley at 9-11 Albert Street.

Have many more pictures and am trying to edit and upload as fast as I can but the flickr is not very cooperative. Hope to post all the wonderful food, especially the home-cooked ones, as soon as possible.

Hubby, Keshia, Leanne and myself arrived home only on the 15th of June. We didn't managed to catch the last flight to KK when we arrived KLIA on the 14th night from Auckland. We couldn't wait to get home but Leanne was very happy for an extra day of holiday.

Spicy Chickpeas

2009-04-27T10:07:00.001+08:00

I love chickpeas and that love affair started long time ago during our stay in KL. II would wait patiently for one particular vendor on bicycle in the afternoons who came around our housing area with this steaming snack. He would scooped a cup of these into a cone cup he made with a piece of brown oiled paper and that could be exchanged with a mere 50 cent. The aroma and flavors from these goodies stayed with me for years. During a Yoko farm outing last year, Margaret came with a dish that brought such nostalgic feel I had to get the recipe from her. Like a kind soul that she is, she explained the entire process and I quickly scribbled on the back of a supermarket receipt (I kept all these bits and pieces solely for these purposes as I tend to forget easily).

Very few ingredients needed and measurements are not crucial. A handful of curry leaves, 1 tablespoon or so of mustard seeds and as many or as few dried chillies as you like for 500g of dried chickpeas.

To prepare the dried chickpeas:

Rinse the legumes well in a colander off dirt and grit, pick out bad peas and small pebbles. Transfer into a bowl and add 1 teaspoon of turmeric (kunyit) powder and 1 teaspoon salt.

Cover with plenty of water and let soak for 6 hours or overnight.

Soak them, the legumes expand, boil them in the soaking water (I did mine in a pressure cooker for 10 minutes, cooking without pressure would take slow simmering for an hour or two) and they expand further.

Spicy Chickpeas

500 g cooked chickpeas

3 - 5 dried chillies, wash, snip into thin rings with scissors and discard seeds

1 T mustard seeds

1/2 cup curry leaves, roughly chopped

1/2 t turmeric powder

salt to taste

1 t chili powder, optional

2 T oil

Heat wok and 2 T oil, fry dried chili on medium heat until fragrant (do not burn as they will taste bitter). Drain and put aside.

Fry the curry leaves until fragrant, drain and keep aside.

Fry mustard until fragrant and drain.

Leave 1/2 tablespoon of the oil in wok, add the turmeric powder and chili powder (if use). Return all the fried ingredients and peas into the wok and mix well. Season to taste.

Serve as side dish or munch on during American Idol.

Guinness Stout Chicken

2009-04-18T22:06:00.003+08:00

Hub handed me a cut-out (he does that very often) from our Star newspaper food column featuring Amy Beh dated 24 March. He said, "Try this", pointing to a chicken dish. "It sounds interesting". The only thing I found interesting was of course the stout. Never cooked with (nor drank) stout before but the overall ingredients sound promising and simple steps to follow, so I gave it a try.

The only reservation I had was the marinade as it contained sugar and this dish calls for deep frying the chicken after marinating. See all the burnt sugar at the side of wok?

Anyway, the chicken after frying tasted so good (the nam yee gave the meat such a lovely fragrant) I almost didn't continue with the rest of the recipe. I would have left it at that if I hadn't gotten the stout specifically for this dish. Oh, now I know what I should have done...ate the chicken together with a bottle of chilled stout!!

The dish turned out very well as the stout gave the end gravy a velvety texture with a slight bitterness which was hardly noticeable (to the girls) and no taste of the beverage at all.

Here is the adapted recipe with slight changes.

Guinness Stout Chicken

1 chicken or 4 thighs and drumsticks, chopped

Seasoning (A)

2 T (tablespoon/s) light soy sauce

1 T sugar

2 pieces red fermented beancurd (nam yee)

1 T water

2 T cornflour

Sauce (B)

2 T oyster sauce

1 can Guinness Stout

50 g rock sugar

1/2 t (teaspoon/s) thick soy sauce

100 ml chicken stock (or dissolve 1/2 cube of stock cube in 100 ml water)

Marinate chicken with (A) for few hours (I left mine overnight).

Deep fry chicken pieces in hot oil until golden. Drain.

Heat up another pan (as the wok frying the meat would have all the burnt caramel stuck all over), put a tablespoon of oil from the wok into the pan.

Add (B) and bring to boil.

Add the fried chicken and simmer until the gravy thickens.

Serve with a plain boiled leafy vegetable and steaming rice. Yumzzz.

Radish Kimchi

2009-04-09T10:03:00.000+08:00

Radish Kimchi

Daniel gave us this bottle of cincalok he made himself and the 'scent' that wisps out is oooh soooo potent. Must get the recipe from him. Whenever we open the lid, never failed, all the flies from the neighborhood come zooming in.

What is the first thing that come to mind when that familiar aroma hits the nasal sensory? KIMCHI!! This is perfect for kimchi making.

I was flipping through this new edition of Flavours on board the flight from KL to KK recently and it was featuring none other than Korean cuisine! Needless to say, found many kimchi recipes staring at me. These kimchi recipes looked so intriguing as they call for apple and pear alongside the usual pickling ingredients. I decided to go with the radish kimchi according to the recipe in the magazine and found this a true keeper. The fruits imparted a slight hint of refreshing sweetness to the otherwise intense dish. The kimchi turned out perfect in every way - crunchy, spicy, pungency and all things kimchi.

Here is the recipe...

Radish Kimchi

2 kg radish, peeled, diced into 2cm cubes

2 T coarse sea salt

Kimchi pickling paste

100g chilli flakes

10 fresh chillies*, seeded and diced

1 brown onion, peeled and diced

1 pear, peeled, cored and diced

1 apple, peeled, cored and diced

3 T cooked rice

50 g ginger, peeled and sliced

1 bulb garlic*

3 T fish sauce

2 T cincalok or Korean brined baby shrimps

sugar and salt to taste

* Optional. The recipe for this radish kimchi has no garlic, I added them because we love the garlicky taste.

1. Marinate radish with the 2 tablespoon of salt for at least 2 hours. Rinse salt off radish thoroughly and drain well.

2. Blitz chilli flakes, fresh chillies, onion, pear, apple, rice and ginger to a fine paste. Add the fish sauce, cincalok, sugar and salt. Mix well.

3. Mix the paste into the radish well and store in clean glass bottles.

4. Leave to ferment for a day and it is ready to serve. Can be kept in fridge for weeks (if they get to last that long).

Zesty Pork Tenderloin

2009-04-06T20:20:00.006+08:00

This recipe is from channel 703. Although we seldom use oranges for cooking except as salad dressing, this dish looked so good I decided to give it a try. The dish above looked no way near the finished dish I saw on TV but nevertheless, it did taste very good with a citrus aroma from the zest and a tangy flavour from the juice. Give it a try. It is very easy to do and a nice change from the usual soy sauce, oyster sauce and more soy and oyster sauce.

Zesty Pork Tenderloin

300 g pork tenderloin, sliced into 1/2 cm thickness

2 - 3 dried chillies, washed and diced

1 inch ginger, sliced thinly

2 - 4 cloves garlic, peeled

1 chili, seeded and diced

1 carrot - optional, peeled, sliced thinly and parboiled

Sauce

1 orange, zest and juiced

1 T black vinegar

1 T soy sauce

1 t sugar

salt

Marinade

1 t sesame oil

1 t cornstarch

1 egg white

salt and pepper

oil for deep frying

1. Marinate pork slices with salt, pepper, egg white and cornstarch. Add a tablespoon of water if the marinade is too thick. Leave for 10 - 20 minutes.

2. Heat oil in pan, deep fry the pork, drain and keep aside.

3. Leave 1 or 2 tablespoons of oil in the same pan, fry the dried chillies until fragrant, add the ginger and garlic, again, fry till fragrant.

4. Add the black vinegar and soy sauce, bring to boil.

5. Return meat to the pan, add the carrots (if using), some diced chili and the orange juice with zest. Cook until sauce thickens. Season with sugar and salt to taste.

6. Dish out, garnish with orange slices and chili. Serve with rice.

Peach Crumble Cheesecake

2009-03-30T15:33:00.006+08:00

Heather asked why I haven't blog for so long and I have been asking myself that too. Laziness most probably sums it up but that is not the entire reason.

I love the part about the food - cooking, eating and even the photo sessions (have tons of photos waiting to be posted) but not so much the latter part of blogging, ie the photo editing, composing and typing. The most daunting task for me is converting my Chinese thinking mind into English hardcopy. To put down in English words what I am thinking in Chinese calls for some major reconstruction thinking (a lot of brain cells) and so very time consuming. I told hubby I need to go for English course. Hubby sometimes helped to correct my grammar and punctuation!

So, when I do not appear in this space for a while you know I am taking a break from thinking... in English only ie :-p.

I have done this cake three times for different occasions and always a crowd winner. The recipe came from a cook book Mui Fung gave me 4 years ago for my birthday. It is called 'A Touch Of Classic Baking' by Kevin Chai.

This is a simple basic cheesecake but with the addition of the peach and the crumbles on top, the humble cake gained superstar status in my book.

Here is the recipe.

Peach Crumble Cheesecake

500g cream cheese

100g caster sugar

3 eggs

250ml whipping cream

2 T cornstarch

1 can (825g) halved peach, drained and wiped dry

Base

250g digestive biscuit, crushed

120g butter (melted)

Topping

150g plain flour

40g caster sugar

75g butter

Preheat oven to 160C

1. Combine finely crushed biscuit (I put all the biscuits in the food processor and gave them a good 1 minute blitz) and melted butter well. Press evenly and compactly into the bottom of a 9" cake pan.

2. Beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth and fluffy. Add in eggs, one at a time, making sure each egg is properly mixed in before adding the next.

3. Stir in whipping cream and cornstarch, mix well.

4. Spread a thin layer (about 1/2 cm thick) of the cheese mixture on top of biscuit.

5. Arrange peaches onto the layer and pour in the remaining cheese mixture to cover the peaches.

6. For the topping, combine flour and sugar, rub in butter until mixture resembles bread crumbs.

7. Sprinkle over the cheese mixture.

8. Bake for 1 hour 20 minutes. Cool completely and refrigerate. Serve cold.

Oaty ChocoChips Cookies

2009-03-22T14:18:00.001+08:00

It was a school holiday project for Leanne and my hair-pulling strategy to get her off her PSP. Go to Hungry Hamster for the recipe as we followed it to the T except for the chocochips which we threw in a few handfuls (definitely more than 12 oz) and added some chopped walnuts as those were the only nuts I had in hand.

A true winner with me for its simplicity and the lovely texture which was crisp on the outside and moist/chewy inside.

The oat content make this indulgence a healthy snack in my book *hookwink*and between my two girls and me we polished off these in one movie sitting!

Sawi Korean Style

2009-03-10T22:33:00.000+08:00

Koreans do pickles as much as the Chinese and the Japanese. Similar yet with distinct differences. This dish is not quite a pickle, more a salad, I think. It reflects Korea's cuisine - rugged, simple, unpretentious and no fuss and frills. The good thing about this dish is it can be eaten as soon as it is prepared, no need to wait for days like the Korean kimchi.

Pickled mustard greens

300g mustard greens aka sawi aka sayur bunga

1 fresh red chilli

2 thin slices ginger, julienned

2 cloves garlics, peeled and chopped

salt

vinegar

sugar

sesame seeds, toasted

sesame oil

Wash the leaves off all grit and dirt. Use drinking water in the last rinse, drain and pat dry.

Gather in a bunch and chop them into about 1/2 cm bits.

Use about 1 teaspoon of salt, rub into the veggie until they turn deep green and sweat. Leave for about 30 minutes.

Wash the salted sawi, drain and squeeze out as much of the moisture as possible.

Add the rest of the ingredients, adjust sugar and vinegar to suit one's taste.

Drizzle a teaspoon of sesame oil. Mix well.

Best served chilled and with a sprinkling of toasted sesame seeds.

A Thank You Note

2009-03-04T14:05:00.005+08:00

Hubby and I celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary on the 1st of March this year. That sounds like a lifetime but actually feels like the blink of an eye. Time does fly especially when we are taking care of 5 lively children.

We had a lot of plans as to how to spend this special day but then everything changed when Heather, our eldest daughter decided she would be home for the occasion. She started planning last year when she realised she couldn't be home for x'mas or CNY. She wanted it to be a surprise but realised she had to let one of us in on her plans to make sure we do not fly off to somewhere at the time. She decided to surprise her daddy as he has always been the one giving surprises. So I was made to conspire in my own surprise anni celebration. I didn't anticipate this job to be sooo difficult...I had to turned down a culinary trip to Changmai, a visit to NZ to see Don and a Rod Steward concert in Singapore!! And my hubby was getting very upset as the date approached and I was refusing to go anywhere he suggested. I was bursting to tell too when the younger siblings asked when the che che be home but I had to keep mum.

Anyway, back to the surprise, the look on hubby's face when he spotted Heather in the car after I picked her up from the airport was worth all the torture. Now I understand why he loves to give surprises, the pleasure was all ours...the planners.

We spent one night at the Kinabalu National Park as this was the place where we first met more than 35 years ago. Our honeymoon 30 years ago was, yes, you guessed it, here too. This has to be our favorite place on earth.

The surprise gift Heather presented us was most touching and couldn't have been more appropriate-- a dinner by a French chef.

For Kevin, it was like a dream come true whereby he got to work closely with a chef (he called himself sous chef for that day) and he got to ask the chef all the culinary questions he needed answering so much so that William let him on to a secret. If he ever get a chance to dine at a top restaurant in Paris, Tokyo or New York, keep all these questions flowing, the chefs might think he is a Michelin inspector and he just might be lucky enough to be served the best meal they have to offer. He even got the chef to teach him how to sharpen all his knives.

I was told to go do my nails, pamper myself and only come downstairs when the guests arrive. I was also told not to take any pictures. So I had to steal all these pictures from hub's camera. One shot I would love to have taken was my three girls serving the seated guests. They were so good! Thank you, girls.

The chef at the market and....

all the hard work that went into making the most enchanting evening...

Thank you, Heather for your love and thoughtfulness. William, thank you for so generously sharing with us some of your culinary secrets and artistic skills.

Go to Terri for the night's food review as she summed it all up perfectly. For us it was an eye-opener as far as entertaining at home is concerned. Simplicity is the keyword but having a chef certainly helps.

I felt so inadequate as I had so limited equipment and kitchen utensils for them to work with but look how far a little creativity can get you. They sourced all these from my kitchen, store room and garden.

And turned an ugly duckling into a swan... a beautiful table setting...

To our dear family and friends who shared with us the lovely evening, thank you for making this a truly memorable anniversary.

We would have loved to share this occasion with all our family and friends, however the logistics and location would have made it impossible to make it the intimate, memorable and culinary experience that it was.

We are deeply grateful to God for all these years we are permitted to be together. No words are ever adequate to express our deep gratitude.

Lai Lai Yong Hi Soy-Bean Milk, Shanghai

2009-02-25T09:27:00.001+08:00

This is a Taiwanese store in Shanghai that serves soybean dishes and other small eats.

We found this outlet near the Bund and the food was surprisingly good as the place didn't look too promising at first. We went in because our feet were hurting and it was drizzling. The place was half-filled with mostly locals (you can tell by the noise level).

These xiao long baos were very good, better than those we had at one high-end shop at Nanjing Lu.

Traditional Shanghai soybean milk served with seaweed, sliced you tiao (a long deep-fried bun flavored with salt and garlic) and many other stuff (can't remember) but I do remember that it was very tasty. It was creamy without being oily. I thoroughly enjoyed slurping it down and dipping the extra long buns into the soup soaking up every last drop.

Another dish I must have if I have another chance to go to Shanghai.

This is soybean curd served Shanghai-style, savory of course with seaweed, a sprinkling of dried shrimps in a soy sauce base. It was good too but I like the soy milk more.

Pumpkin buns and dumplings, both yummy.

Chicken-one-pot

2009-02-23T08:42:00.002+08:00

These days there are usually only three of us for dinner. Knowing me, I like short cuts and have everything in one dish - save on dish washing too! I don't remember where I came across this recipe so sorry I can't give credit. I like it because it is really simple to cook and with minimal everyday ingredients that can be found in most household, it is a breeze. As for taste, according to Leanne, she doesn't like it... but loves it! She likes to tease me with a long pause at the... :0 Naughty girl.

Any veggies like celery, bell peppers, peas can be added too. A good fridge cleaning recipe.

3 chicken thighs, deboned

corn starch seasoned with salt and pepper to coat chicken

2 T oil

1 big onion, diced

1 carrot, diced

1 tomato, diced

2 cloves of garlic, crushed and peeled

2 T brown sugar

4 T apple cider vinegar

1 T Worcestershire-sauce

black pepper, freshly ground

salt

Cut chicken into two.

Pat dry and coat them in the corn starch.

Heat oil in pan, fry the chicken until it is golden and cook through.

Remove to a plate.

Fry onion in the same pan on fairly high heat until fragrant and slightly caramelized, add garlic, carrot and tomato.

Combine sugar, apple cider vinegar and Worcestershire-sauce in a bowl and adjust the sweet and sour balance to taste, add 2-3 tablespoon of water if like thinner gravy.

Add to the veggies and cook for a few minutes until sauce thickens a little.

Return the chicken to the pan and mix well. Season with some black pepper and salt if you like. Dish out and garnish with cilantro (which I didn't have) and serve with rice.

Dolar Hot Pot Shop, Shanghai

2009-02-20T12:33:00.000+08:00

I love steamboat especially so when the weather is cold. It is so comforting sitting around a hot stove surrounded by family and food.

This is one of Dolar chain stores that serves steamboat which in Shanghai, is called hotpot. The difference between this hotpot restaurant to the rest is that here each patron has the choice of his/her soup base which is served individually in a small pot with it's own small stove. Cool. Put in whatever your heart's desire and create a soup that is uniquely you.

Seafood soup which actually has two baby hairy crabs about the size of a spoon. My choice, obviously.

A sour soup with preserved veggie, hum choi, Leanne's choice, obviously.

Heather had the mushroom soup which looked very yummy too, San San and hubby had mushroom and seafood too.

This was also one of the very few places in China that I was told I could not take pictures but I managed a few stolen shots when the waitress was out of sight. Please excuse the

rather shoddy images as I had to snap quickly from where I sat. It was a pity as I only managed pictures at our own table and wasn't brave enough to venture to the sauce station where the culinary happenings were. The sauce station is where you, as a chef for the night, go to concoct a designer's, one-of-a-kind dipping sauce from an immense (sooo many, tooo many) variety of condiments. I was like a child in a candy store...didn't know where to start at first but once got started, couldn't stop...:p. My first sauce turned disastrous as I got too greedy and piled on everything. The good thing was, you could start all over again until you get the prefect sauce to complement your hot pot.

Too impatient, added too many ingredients at one go and the slice of beef landed in a cold soup :O

One pot each, a tableful of food and a night of total indulgence.

Yong Tofu

2009-02-17T08:06:00.002+08:00

I grew up with traditional Hakka food and to me yong tofu is just that - stuffed beancurd with mince meat (most times of pork but fish is more popular now for health reasons I suppose). I only learnt to eat all the different types of stuffed veggies when we were stationed in KL years ago.

Mui Fong has taken on the task of marketing for me these days. She reckons home-grown veggies without pesticides and chemicals are easier to find in Tamparuli. These are some of the very fresh veggies she brought over, a few of each.

So, to make a feast out of them, I sliced, slit and stuffed them...

The yong tofu without the tofu

I like to cook this dish as a one-pot-meal and the veggies go down easier for the young ones.

I was lazy so I bought two packets of minced pork from the Lido market, minced some fish flesh (about 300g) and mixed it into the pork.

Stuff the veggies.

Deep fry the stuffed eggplants, bitter gourd and chillies to brown, not to cook them but just to make them more attractive to the young ones. Drain and keep aside.

Fry some chopped shallots and garlic with a tablespoon of oil until fragrant. Set some aside for garnishing (which I forgot).

Add a tablespoon of oyster sauce into the same wok.

Before the mixture burns add in 2 - 3 cups of stock (use the remaining fish bones to make stock or just boil some ikan billis or bonito flakes in water for 10 minutes, strain and use the stock).

When boiling, place bitter gourd in first as they will take the longest to cook (omit this if some members of family don't eat this veggie), then chillies, egg plant and then lastly the lady fingers.

Cook until the stuffing turns color and the veggies slightly soft.

Thicken the gravy with 1t cornflour + 1T water. For a soupy dish, omit the thickening, just add more stock, season to taste.

Eat with a chilli/lime/garlic/soy dipping sauce.

My favorite from this selection has to be the stuffed red chilli (do deseed them before stuffing).

Shanghai

2009-02-12T10:06:00.000+08:00

Pudong, viewed from the Bund side on a misty rainy morning

Shanghai is a city with many facades. My first impression of the city was of confusion, dusty, noisy and basically for someone like me who originate from a 'kampong' - village with only one main street, very perplexing. Even after ten days there, I was still disorientated but beginning to feel a certain charm in the city. Below are some of the places we managed to see.

Our near-midnight rendezvous in one of the many cafes dotted all over the city. Excellent desserts and tea.

Exclusive clubs, high-end boutiques, western cafes and small family-run alley stores, all exist side by side.

The area where we stayed, Luwan, belongs to a part of the old french concession.

Between Fuxing Lu and Huaihai Lu, it has the most unique blend of old and new, the poor, rich and very rich, preservation and demolition, all working hand in hand.

An old tea shop

The avenues in this part of Shanghai (as in many other parts of Shanghai) are all tree-lined with a deciduous tree called Plane specially imported by the French in the olden days.

A park near Heather's place lined with Plane trees from France

The trees create a very unique feel to the city.

The high-end shoppers

The most famous area has to be at the Nanjing Lu where many international brands like Zara, H&M, MNG parked their stores.

But we preferred these small shops where we can find this...

And this...

Not to take home but just food for my camera :p.

The rod-iron gate that one sees at almost every alley. Within are either offices or private residences.

The one place in Shanghai that I like very much is here at Tian Zi Fang. This is where an old district is being transformed into a quaint niche while still retaining many of its old original charm.

Many small stores where one can sit and have a drink or browse through some antiques.

Kind of touristy but in a very pleasant manner.

Love this table.

There were crowds but yet there are many nooks where you can walk and browse and have a cup of tea or coffee in total isolation.

Many chill-out places for everyone... locals, expatriates and tourists alike.

Came across this amazing and amusing portrait of two old ladies (piecing ears??) displayed outside a cafe in the alley. Want to learn to take portraits that tell stories like this.

A garment for the young. Very unique in that it is also a baby carrier and there is a big opening behind to facilitate the young to eh.. discharge without having to disrobe. I wanted to turn the displayed item around to take a picture but the sales girl was watching and unless I buy that thingy she was not too happy with me and my camera.

Hand-sawn baby foot covers.

Laundry day...

and..

business as usual...just don't look up when having a cuppa in one of these lovely cafes.

Another French influence...

Arrowroot Chips

2009-02-09T06:02:00.000+08:00

Ben dropped by the house and quickly zoomed in on these. Before he popped them into his mouth I warned him that these might not be what he expect. I knew he had mistaken them for potato chips. These are arrowroot chips. Meant to post this before CNY but forgotten in the midst of all the festive activities, last minute shopping and cooking.

Arrowroots, clad

These only come by once a year during CNY. So even when I swear that i won't touch veggies from China, I couldn't resist these. I love them braised with chinese sausage and chicken. The children like them fried as chips (don't think they know what these chips are made of when they pop them into their mouth).

Arrowroots, unclad

Use a slicer and slice arrowroots directly into hot oil. Rewind---see the previous foto--- have a good reason to leave the tips intact when peeling. I needed something to grab on to when slicing. Do not overcrowd when frying as they will stick together, so just do one arrowroot at one time unless your wok is big and fill with tons of oil. Be ready to lift up the chips fast as they cook and brown very quickly.

These were the first few batches and as usual, forgotten that they will continue cooking after lifted from oil. Overly brown and they get too bitter (they are a little bitter to begin with). If you like, sprinkle on fine salt but sparingly. When cooled, store in airtight container. Make excellent gift for CNY as they resemble gold coins (I know, I know this is a little too late for this CNY but there is always next year, right?).

I want to wish everyone a very happy and 'full filling' Chap Goh Mei.

Food Of The Sea

2009-02-05T08:38:00.001+08:00

Seaweed pickles

Have you seen these before? I goggled and found the closest thing resembling it is called Irish moss with a scientific name of Chondrus Crispus (very delicious sounding name) but these are only to be found in the colder parts of the world.

The seaweed pictured above are found locally here off the coast of Sabah especially in Tawau, so if anyone out there knows what it is called locally or scientifically please feel free to enlighten.

They come in fresh and dried form. I am yet to see the fresh ones but Pit Fung said she had seen some in Tuaran market. A friend gave me a packet of the dried ones few months ago and it was left in the fridge as I didn't know what to do with it.

Then, Betty, my sister gave me some pickles and I noted some unusual ingredients in it. They were these seaweeds and they tasted great. They have a slight taste of the sea and the texture is like softened kelp. Unlike kelp these seaweeds are also beautiful to look at.

Quickly fished out the packet from my fridge and soaked the whole thing and forgotten to take any pictures. Anyway, they were not very photogenic when dried. Slightly brown and all shriveled up.

Soak them in water overnight and they turn into swans.

If you don't like the sea taste to be too overpowering, change the soaking water more often.

I soaked these for two days.

Rinse with lukewarm drinking water before preparation but do not, repeat, do not blanch with hot water or your seaweed will be reduced to thick liquid. I learned the hard way.

Pickle with shredded carrots, cucumber, onions and chili.

Jazz it up with some szechuan pepper oil, chili oil or sesame oil.

Chill and serve.

Can serve them stylishly atop a porky cold dish as hors d'ourves like I did with this jellyfish salad.

Shanghai Xiao Chi @ Wujiang Lu

2009-02-02T21:08:00.000+08:00

I am not quite done yet with the food in Shanghai and Japan but navigating through the maze in my flickr album is a daunting task. I keep telling myself I need to categorize my photos properly...

Xiao chi (small eats) can be found at every nook and corner in Shanghai but it would take a strong leathery gut, literary and figuratively, to sample all.

The place I like best had to be the Wujiang xiao chi road, a pedestrian food heaven with all the small eats of Shanghai congregate in this one small alley. This famous alley will be a thing of the past soon as there is a plan to revamp it to a more upmarket street like its western stretch which now, after renovation, houses all the branded stores like Starbuck, Coffee Bean and many shopping arcades like Marks & Spencer (but all these can be found in any city in the world!!).

The scene of this pedestrian walk taken on a Sunday about lunch time when we arrived. We were not able to get much to eat as almost every stall had queue line a mile long (not exaggerating but Heather said the line moves very fast as the food get dished out speedily with very little finesse). Undaunted, we went back again on our last day in Shanghai. Below are two days' worth of Wujiang Lu...

Look at the queue even at the smelly tofu stall.

But we managed...

Another queue for the chinese burgers, small buns which were stuffed with meat of one's choice.

All kinds of fruit candies that claimed to have some healing benefits.

Very popular kebabs with with meats ranging from tame to wild.

These tepanyaki cuttlefish looked delish but line too long.

Potstickers, a very hot item too.

Find the skin a little thicker than our dumplings but still good.

I love this bowl of spicy noodle soup. Not the bowl though...

The noodles were just like the Korean glass noodles.

It was topped with thin slices of meat (beef) and a whole array of condiments like peanuts, sesame seeds, fried shallots, garlic, preserved veggies, cilantro, chili paste and see the basin of red hot sauce at the right hand corner? That's the finishing touch. Sooo good especially in this cold, cold Shanghai weather. I am drooling writing this...

This was from the same stall. Eaten cold but packed with fury heat too. The noodle is much like our hor fun but thicker and with more bite.

Yang's fried dumplings, the most famous sheng jian bao and it is NOT over-rated. We only get to eat these on our second trip. They were worth the long wait. The skin was smooth, not quite as thick as bao's skin but thicker than dumpling's, with a bite and held the most delicious soup within which was real stock and not lard like the few we had by some roadside stalls.

Leanne has decided she loves these more than xiao long bao, me too.

THE Dinner Of The Year

2009-01-28T23:30:00.000+08:00

Before we get to the food part, let me wish everyone gong xi fa cai throughout the year of the golden Ox. Why is the Fook character upside down? That is to wish everyone Fook Tau meaning luck, prosperity and everything good arrives.

The Reunion Dinner of the Chinese New Year, we had it at my brother, TM's house.

It was a potluck dinner and each was to bring just two dishes...but look what a banquet it turned out to be...

Let's start with the poultry

Bai zhan ji (white cut chicken)

My sis-in-law's signature dish. She had the chicken cooked to perfection. A must-have favorite.

Braised chicken with mushrooms. The succulent mushrooms took center stage here.

Roast duck

The seafood

Sea cucumber

Sweet and sour prawns

Deluxe fish cake with crab stick and nori

The porky dishes

Another must-have Hakka fare, yong tofu

A cold dish of pork trotters and jelly fish pickles

The Vegetables

Baby kailan

Broccoli and carrots

All these for fifteen of us... one new year's resolution made less than a month ago thrown out of the window :p.

Once again, have a happy, healthy, harmonious and prosperous year of the Ox.

Fish Maw Soup

2009-01-22T22:38:00.005+08:00

When we were growing up, only during CNY festive season (or on wedding dinners) that this dish was served. So whenever the aroma of this fishy delicacy is detected, it triggers my brain cells to kicked into an overdrive of celebration gear. As I wasn't quite in a festive mood even a week before the CNY, I felt I had to self induce some. So I cooked the fish miaw soup and that did the trick because that same day I began to bring out the CNY deco for the house :-D.

Fish maw is the gas bladder of a fish that helps it to change depth without swimming.
I have always bought them ready to cook. Usually they come in the dried form and you would have to deep fry them first before they can be added to a dish.
This batch of fish maw we bought this year was from Hong Kong and was processed a little differently. They were not deep fried in oil but deep fried in a wok of tiny rock salt pebbles, I was told.
I prefer this method becouse I have always had doubts about the freshness of the deep frying oil used commercially. Also, when the maws are deep fried in oil they have to be consumed within a short time or the oil would turn rancid and rendered the maw inedible.

Two fish maws when soaked yield about 2 cups.

All you need for the soup are:

1 kampong chicken, cut into small pieces
2 carrots, peeled and sliced or diced
10 red dates, washed and stoned (flatten them with the side of a chopper and the stones can be easily remove)
some dried mushrooms, soaked until soft
a bowl of soaked fish maw
2-3 L water

salt and pepper

~Bring water to boil.
~Add the chicken and when the water begins to boil again, lower heat and simmer for 1/2 hour.
~Add carrots, dates and mushroom and simmer for another 1/2 hour.
~Add fish maw, bring to boil and let it cook for about 3 - 5 minutes.

~Season to taste.
~Serve hot.

Beside making soup, fish maw can be cooked stuffed with minced meat like yong tau foo or braised with chicken and mushroom, all delicious.

A Gift

2009-01-20T09:13:00.001+08:00

This beautiful christmas gift came all the way from New Zealand. I cried when I received it, not of sadness but more of a realization of how, in so many ways and instances I underestimated or overlooked my children's thoughtfulness.

A recipe box. What is so special about that? You might ask. To me, it is priceless and it showed me the thought that went into the gift. Let me share with you the reason why this gift touched my heart so...

This has been my recipe box for more than a decade, a branded classic :-p. It housed many of my favorite recipes. I have had it for so long that I never really see the need to upgrade. I was really very surprised that someone in the house noticed this item which was always tucked at a corner and that it was my son even amazes me more.

This showed me how much more I need to learn about my children and how they grow and change with the years.

The old and the new.

The new has the index cards which I always wanted but never got around to do for my old.

The old fits perfectly in the new house.

Look so good too.

Finally my recipes are categorized.

Now I am busy taking down more of my favorite recipes from another of my dinosaur's age (before the age of internet) recipe recording method which is about to fall into pieces...

...the one and only, limited edition cookbook, my green book.

A cut and paste pesto sauce recipe from a food wrapper (I remember it was from the plastic bag that came with the pine nuts from Mee). Very authentic recipe.

Another cut and paste, the fabulous CNY Yee Sang recipe of Amy Beh found in The Star.

Even though I love the internet access to recipes, I still prefer to have my recipes in cards as they are more handy (have you ever try running back and forth from where the computer is to the kitchen like 10x to make sure you've got a recipe correctly?), unless and until I have a computer in the kitchen (even then)...

...this will remains my most treasured box for a long, long time.

Thank you, Don.

And A Year Older

2009-01-15T13:13:00.002+08:00

Leanne read the last post and felt very hurt that her recent her birthday party was not included. It totally slipped my mind.

With the lunch and dinner calendar so fully packed and the new school term looming we decided to have something very simple and small in the last minute. I gave her a limit in the number of guests to invite because the two kokos (her brothers) were not around to help with games and crowd control. I was so relieved when she decided she wanted the party to be an all-girls do.

It was a very nice relaxing party and I think the girls were glad there were no boys around.

I cooked an aubergine pasta which Leanne like but was apprehensive that the rest might not take to it (the only meat was some bacon crisps for flavor). Anyway, I needn't have worried as they loved it too. I will post the recipe the next time I cook it as I don't have any food pictures, if you noticed. The reason being I wasn't the one behind the camera.

I did the cake too as I just couldn't bring myself to get one of those colorful thingy that taste like chemical concoction in our neighborhood bakery stores. Leanne wasn't very happy as there was no deco but it was a hit taste-wise. A peach crumble cheesecake, very easy to do, will put up the recipe once I get a reasonable picture.

The closest of the food pics. He does take good portraits though...

A New Year

2009-01-12T14:38:00.005+08:00

Before anything else, late as it is, I would like to wish everyone a happy, healthy and harmonious 2009.

Mee, David and Amy were here and gone. Dan and family, Siang and family were here too and left. It had been a hectic end of year to a brand new year but in a very warm and happy way. I got lazy and that is the only reason for the big gap in the blogging. Not that there was any shortage of blogging material, in fact, I was swarmed when I uploaded all the pics from my camera and found almost three weeks worth of events undocumented. Anyway, I do a short cut and try to condense everything into one post... hahaha sounds just like my cooking - lump everything in one pot...

Mee first taste of chicken rice at Wiya @ Segama, the oldest known chicken rice shop in KK town. She gave it a thumbs up.

Then came the best fried noodle (Little Dave, you would love these), better than the one in Tamparuli and can only be found in Papar.

Dong Zhi, 'celebration of the arrival of winter' was on 21st Dec. and we had a steamboat dinner over at Chiew's place. I only had eyes for the desserts...

Two days later we had a surprise wedding anniversary party for Mee and David at Tet's place.

Yes, 30 years and still going strong...we wish you many more happy years together!

Christmas eve and night. Ben's house first and then my place... the food was endless. Last year I didn't do any turkey but this year, two in a row and they were soo good. Go to Terri's blog for the recipe.

Come end of the year and wedding invitations come flooding in, it seems to be the favorite season to get hitched...this year there is one extra special one. Nancy, my niece decided to join the crowd, ended the long courtship and tied the knot with Loong. Their wedding started off on the 30th December with a mass in St. Simon Church in Likas with a luncheon to follow. Wedding dinner was held on the 6th January. Why? I heard it was because the major hotels in town were booked out every single night for this peak period with wedding and year-end company dinners. So for anyone thinking of a big do for their wedding, book earlier or choose a less busy season like March...

Weddings always bring tears but in a most joyful way.

This is also the time when family and friends near and far come together to rejoice.

1st January, 2 truckloads of the family went up to Kundasang. Stayed at Zen Garden in a three- room cabin, very spacious (with living room big enough to dance in) and with cooking facility. The mountain view was breathtaking but the temperature was too warm unlike in the Kinabalu National Park.

Pre-wedding food tasting at Silk Garden, Pacific Sutera Hotel.

See all the pros at play.... attended the opening of Metro, a pool and snooker center in Damai.

and that of course meant more food... the roast pork on the top right was the main attraction.

In addition to all the above, we brought them to all our favorite restaurants like Baba and Nyonya, Welcome Seafood, Gaya Sports (this one has improved tremendously since I last posted on it. Too bad I didn't bring along my camera this time.), pork soup in Dongongon, best Kuching laksa in town ... endless feast.

And now I am eating boil veggies and brown rice everyday until CNY...

I have made a resolution to treat my body well and that means early to bed too...so late night blogging is out.

With no food to speak of and time (as I blog at snail's pace - one post takes me hours in front of the computer and I used to blog when all are asleep and the house quiet) what is to become of this food blog???

Yu Xin @ Shanghai

2008-12-19T23:20:00.001+08:00

If you are a lover of Sichuan fiery hot spicy food this is the address for you:

3rd floor, #333, Zhao Shang Ju Square, North Chengdu Road (near Weihai Lu),

Jing'an District.

This is in Shanghai and not in Chengdu, Sichuan although the address can be misleading...

Tel: 5298 0438 (make reservation to avoid the queue)

The last time I had authentic Sichuan dishes were 3 years ago in Chengdu, Sichuan and came away with my whole mouth, tongue and all, numb but a culinary experience I'd never forget.

When Heather told me that her two Shanghainese good friends/colleaques wanted to bring us out for Sichuan dinner, I was ecstatic (this tongue numbing experience can be very addictive, fear but love it all at the same time...)

The girls did all the ordering as they are the true experts of this cuisine.

Started off with the cold dish always...delicate pork dish with duck egg yolk.

Some rabbit food...lettuce with sesame sauce.

A very refreshing lightly stir-fried of black fungus, asparagus and chili.

The ever popular jellyfish salad, crunchy and delicious.

OK, now armed with an artillery of antidotes, we were ready for the unique assault of the palates by the following fiery Sichuan dishes...

Steamed chicken smoldered in a hot sauce of hua jiao (Sichuan peppers) and chilli pepper sprinkled generously with sesame seeds and peanuts. Yumz, hot and spicy.

Meaty and succulent bull frog legs stewed with petula (silk gourd) and tiny pickled red and green chillies in, what else but the ma la flavor of the huajiao. The aroma and flavor of the sichuan peppers coupled with the sourness from the varied pickled chillies rendered this dish beyond description...Proceed cautiously, it is a land mine of hua jiao floating around. One chomp and the mouth goes numb along with the taste bud too.

My favorite of the evening.

When this dish turned up at the table, I was thinking 'Chili soup?' Looked closely, the soup turned out to be oil! Are we going to eat that? OK, I was told this is hot fish fillet with chili peppers in oil. Thin slices of fish (freshwater) were cooked without fire but just from the heat of the boiling hot spicy oil.

The fish was left in the hot oil with red pepper chili for a while and an attendant came by the table, lifted off the chili pieces and revealed the fish slices within. With this method the fish get cooked just right. The flavor and texture of fish was unbelievably smooth and silky and surprisingly didn't taste oily at all.

Now the girls said we need to bring down the temperature as our warm attire was removed layer by layer as the meal progressed. They asked the captain for something to bring down the heat and this was the dish that turned up (lucky for us they didn't send the bomba).

Savory soy bean curd with all these condiments. I don't know about the effectiveness of this in cooling us but it was a very tasty way to end the fiery dinner.

Thank you, Z and C for the lovely evening, fantastic food and truly entertaining company.

Yuan Yuan Restaurant @ Shanghai

2008-12-18T00:22:00.004+08:00

This restaurant at Xingguo Lu, Xu Hui is near where Heather stays and we passed it a few time walking to Huaihai Lu (the main thoroughfare of the old French Concession and now bustling with shops) but never stop until one late morning when I thought we would be able to get some dim sum here. But someone was yelling hungry, so we had an early lunch instead of a late breakfast.

Anchovy appetizer.

Another appetizer, yummy broad beans and preserved veggie. I find the preserved veggie here very fresh and fragrant without the saltiness like those we get back home.

A so so drunkard chicken. The wine sauce was tasty enough but the chicken was blend, tasteless and like the picture tells, a little anemic too.

Asparagus in crab sauce.

BBQ pork and

roasted duck platter. Tasted better than they looked.

All these were rather mediocre dishes until we hit the jackpot with this...

Belly pork braised in brown (soy) sauce.

This got to be the epitome of the goodness of hong shao rou (red cooked pork). I would kill to get the recipe of this dish and the technique to get the meat so perfectly cooked. The 1/2 inch of the belly fat was soft, smooth, silky and succulent without falling apart and didn't taste one bit like fat. The sauce accompanying was amazing - no cornstarch here - some kind of caramelized reduce stock with a amazing depth of flavors. This was totally crazy as I threw all health caution out of the window and dug in with gusto especially with the fatty parts. No pangs of guilt at all when the plate was wiped clean and I alone had almost half of it. Like I said, didn't taste like fat at all...

I am going without pork until I return to this restaurant again and have just this dish all to myself...

This is sheng jian bao, a Shanghai famous xiao chi (small eats/bites). Great soup inside but the skin in this case was more a bao (too thick) rather than a potsticker (thin). We tasted better ones at Wujiang Road.

Nan Lee Restaurant @ Shanghai

2008-12-15T19:15:00.001+08:00

Nan Lee Restaurant

We met up with my cousin's daughter, San San, who moved to Shanghai with the husband almost 2 years ago when he went over to work. She brought us to this Shanghai/Hangzhou cuisine at this address:

It is very easy to find as it is on the same street (Nanjing Lu) as all the up-market shopping ... when you find this gate, walk in a few meters and it is on your right.

Simple but delicious eggs in a light sweet soy dressing, one of the many Shanghainese cold dish.

This fish is also considered a cold dish. It is stewed with preserved veggie with a sweet sauce. Very appetizing.

A stir-fried of pork belly, walnuts, leeks and chillies. Wonderful combination of taste and texture.

A beef hot-pot with tang hoon. A meal by itself.

Nian gau (sticky rice cake) in cubes instead of the usual slices fried kung pou style. Very tasty.

Another fish dish but I didn't get to taste this as there were so many other dishes to sample.

A rather disappointing lion's head... but huge, almost the size of my fist.

A chicken hot-pot stew

Steam egg

Shanghai staple- veggie rice. Love it, especially the fresh soybeans.

We went for the lunch special for 6 pax at RMB 198 although there were only 4 of us!*greedy* Nine tasty wholesome dishes in all which could have easily fed 8. Real value for money. No wonder the place was packed.

We went back for dinner again the day before we left Shanghai as we were shopping nearby and wanted to taste more of their dishes.

So glad we did...

A delicious cold dish of shredded cucumber, enoki mushroom and cilantro with a light vinaigrette dressing. So light and refreshing.

A starter set of stewed pork ribs and tofu.

Another tofu dish fried with thin slices of lup choong (chinese sausage) and leek. So simple yet sooo good.

Four-season beans.

Dong Bo Rou with preserved veggie.

Crustaceans Encounter @ Shanghai

2008-12-13T21:43:00.002+08:00

Before we left for Shanghai, hubby repeatedly remind Leanne not to miss trying out the grilled garlic oysters which he said can be found at almost every corner in Shanghai. We were expecting to have them everyday for appetizer but alas, that was not to be as we couldn't find any near where we stayed. Must have stayed in a wrong address.

When Heather brought us to this 'pasar malam'-like place and we found that K was right.

The whole street were lined with grilled oysters stores and according to Heather there are locations all over Shanghai just like this one - so the dad wasn't exaggerating...

Oysters...

and oysters everywhere you turn.

We went into this stall which Heather said serves good and very fresh seafood.

Leanne wasn't very keen on the seating arrangement as the store was only the size of a small bedroom but packed with more than 20 patrons. It was an elbow to elbow encounter.

Feeling a little claustrophobic....

But all these became immaterial when the food arrived...

First course - 1 kg of these boiled crayfish.

then came the scallops...

followed closely by the oysters both of which were smoldered in garlic/chilli sauce.

and more oysters still... all these were very yummy but I was waiting for something else...

...these hairy ones, the famous Shanghai freshwater crabs. I was told this was the best season (Oct. - Feb.) to eat them. As the weather gets colder these crustaceans become sluggish and lazy so they fatten up and the meat get denser and sweeter. They were smaller than I expected, each one smaller than the size of my palm.

But when one was opened, it was all roe and I couldn't be happier. This is also the season when the crabs were to mate - hence the abundance eggs.

A female crab packed with gorgeous roe.

A male crab with even more glorious 'gau' jelly-like smooth, rich creamy goodness which I never knew existed. I fell in love with these hairy male crabs.

Look at this. Every little morsel was an indulgence. I realized eating hairy crab is all about its roes and not so much the meat.

Couldn't help myself but had to ask for two more crabs all to myself. Guess...male or female??

These mantis shrimps were also on the menu but we gave them a miss as they were deep-fried but the couple next to us were happily cracking and picking on a whole tray of these 'pissing prawns' the whole evening.

A French Encounter @ Kee Club, Shanghai

2008-12-08T00:33:00.005+08:00

Hah, my first post about our trip to Shanghai and it had to be French... see the enormous influence the french had on this part of China? Heather wanted to celebrate my birthday (which incidentally was more than three months ago but she had to remind me about my age...) never one to refuse a good food offer and not about to start now. When she mentioned we'd be going to an exclusive club and having French... panic... I imagined gentlemen in suits and ladies in flowing evening gowns. With the cold weather and travel-light policy, the only presentable item on this 'some pa lau' (in Hakka dialect) from Tamparuli was maybe her leather boots. The story of her life - the 'I-have-nothing-to-wear' issue (wonder if psychology has a term for this condition?)....Heather saw the look on her face and kindly told her 'casual smart' is fine. Oh, that's a relief!

Kee Club Shanghai is newly opened, the first Kee Club opened in Hong Kong but is strictly members only. I was told that here in Shanghai it would be open to the public until end of this year after which it will be 'members' only too (membership now available at RMB9000 annualy, anyone interested ?).

The club is nestled in the beautifully renovated 1920s Twin Villas behind the cast-iron gates at 796 Huai Hai Lu. It has a very European feel with plush furniture, antiques and fine art.

The place feels very luxurious and expensive but in a very cozy, homely and relaxing manner and I think I can get used to this lifestyle... :p

Chef William Mahi heads the restaurant specialising in French Mediteranean cuisine, I am not familiar with french food and I am embarrassed to tell here that among the very few encounters that I had, the only memorable (and not exactly favorable) one was some escargot drenched in butter and garlic many years ago.

I was rather glad I didn't have any choice over the menu selection... in fact I didn't even get to see the menu. Heather had everything planned and all I needed to do was show up.

A potato puree (excuse my calling a potato a potato, I have no idea what this dish is called) with a touch of truffle oil. Exquisitely light yet tickled a whole array of senses in the palate. Amazing. I wouldn't have minded if I were served a soup bowl of this.*hint*

The chef called this 'tuna sandwich' - certainly not what I usually pack for lunch. Caviar sandwiched between two pieces of sashimi-grade tuna with the lightest of dressing and garnishing.

Foie gras and sweetbread with a sprinkling of coarse sea salt.

Baby calamari and cherry tomatoes with a light citrus dressing. Simply gorgeous.

Everything on the plate was edible, yes, even the flower which I had mistaken for a rose at first glance.

So good that Leanne mopped up every bit with the bread. A excellent starter course that really whet our appetite.

Wild sea bass as the main dish. Look at the plating - the baby clams appeared like butterflies fluttering around.

This was perfect. Fresh, cooked just right and with the lightest of gravy, the flesh was soft and sweet. The passion fruit added a refreshing, tangy flavor and complemented the seafood in a most unexpected manner.

There must be a title befitting this creative dessert but since I had no access to the menu nor the bill, I hereby christened it 'ChocoHalo'. A golden brittle caramel ring sits atop a tunnel of thin crisp chocolate waffles (?) with a scoop of rich coffee ice cream inside. This skillfully crafted delicacy rests on some hazelnut chocolate fudge with a deliciously rich dark chocolate sauce. So sorry we had to sink our teeth into this magnificent work of art.

Heavenly and sinful all in one mouthful...

A cup of peppermint tea and the company of my girls after a beautiful meal... wishing the rest of the family were here too.

We heard Yoko Ono arrived at the club that night too, we didn't bother looking out as we were not exactly fans but then we had to spend the rest of the evening explaining to Leanne who Yoko is. It was so warm and comfortable we stayed and chatted until the wee hour with the kitchen pampering us with some tiny delights every now and then.

Mini chocolate truffles, cookies and lemon tarts...

Sweet strawberry macaroons...truly an enchanting evening to remember.

Black Sesame Ice Cream and Okonomiyaki

2008-12-04T22:05:00.002+08:00

I searched for this black sesame ice cream all over Japan and for this trip I only managed to find it here in Kyoto. Strange, last year it was everywhere we went in Japan. When I saw it being offered as a dessert for a set meal, I had to order the meal, whatever it was. My favorite ice cream to date. Roasted nutty flavour, rich, sweet but with a just a hint of bitterness like a good dark chocolate.

Luckily the set meal was nothing exotic, just some Japanese pancake, okonomiyaki but we had to do the cooking ourselves. We also had some tofu teppanyaki on the same hot plate.

Perfectly done.

Splurge on the sweet and sour sticky yummy sauce as much as you can so as to ensure the rest of the garnishings like bonito flakes, chopped spring onion stay on. Here you go, the Japanese pizza.

These goodies were also part of the set and I must admit, even though I had eyes only for the ice cream, the dango with the mitarashi sauce on the left was delicious. I am sure it is the superior Japanese glutinous rice flour, as to make this dessert is no difference to making our traditional tang yuan but yet this was ultra silky smooth without any of the graininess of the tang yuan I made (no matter how much I knead and how long I leave it to rest). I can easily get hooked on this stuff.

I am knocking my head now for not bringing home some of these glutinous flour from Japan for our yearly tang yuan!

Nishiki Market, Kyoto

2008-12-02T22:55:00.004+08:00

Remember the market I mentioned a few posts ago that has the same namesake as our oldest Japanese restaurant in KK? Yes, the Nishiki. Well, we visited the market here in Kyoto and it was everything I expected and more.

I was told it is really small compared to Tsukiji Market in Tokyo but it has it's own charm and the good thing is, it is part of a bigger covered shopping arcade that runs endlessly for blocks, the Teramachi Dori (fashion, fashion and more fashion - not my cup of tea) and the Shijo Dori (brimming with electrical goods - not my cup of tea either). They did make a very pleasant window-shopping expedition as they were interspersed with endless food stalls and restaurants (I found the ice cream I was looking for here too).

When I looked up the internet I saw all the lovely food stalls but that didn't prepare me for the walk through the market when my five senses went into an overdrive. The scent, smell, aroma, fragrance, taste, sight plus the hustle and bustle made this 400m walk a gourmet ecstasy if you are a Japanese food freaks like us.

This stall has all sorts of pickles vegetables in miso paste. The aroma from these tubs hits all the sensory nerves.

A bathtub-size container full of pickled gourds.

More veggies pickled in brine and sake, I think.

Freshly shaved bonito flakes.

One of the many stalls selling fresh seafood.

Fish roe and scallops.

Tasting station for the many dried seafood that are unique to Japanese cuisine.

As many as there are fresh food stalls, there are cooked, ready-to-eat food stalls too. These kebabs are all lined up temptingly. Needless to say, we stood here for quite a while. They were very good.

Fish cakes, fish balls, crab cakes all ready to go.

I would have love these with a piping hot bowl of Japanese sticky rice.

Grilled fish for busy working housewives to bring home for dinner...

Any one for the hottest spice in Japan??

Beside food, this market sells everything related to food preparation too.

Knives, scissors...

All these and more...

Dinner @ Fijisan's Foothill

2008-11-30T23:03:00.002+08:00

Note the sashimi at the top of picture, the white flesh, they were soooo fresh and delicious I wanted to have them all to myself. They exuded essence of the sea without a hint of fishiness and so so sweet. I didn't want to mar the taste by dipping them in wasabi/soy sauce, so, for the first time I had sashimi straight.

This is the fish who sacrified for the culinary best of this Japan trip.

Assorted sushi paled in the light of the sashimi but I love them all the same, probably just for the rice beneath.

Three types of grilled fish.

Perfect tempura, so light that I had 4 helpings. Lucky me, I am yet to come across bad, soggy tempura in Japan.

There were lots of other food that didn't leave any particularly fond recollections so I omitted them...but wait, I am not about to forget this...

This was from our breakfast the next morning, I mentioned this because this 'hot spring' egg is one breakfast item we don't like to miss. I am not sure if it is cooked in hot spring but it is the most perfect half-boiled I ever tasted anywhere and it is served cold. The texture of the egg white and yolk is unbelievable. Crack the egg into a very light soy dressing, slurp it in a mouthful or two (no chewing required) and let the smooth silky delicacy slide down the throat. So good...

A Cozy Dinner

2008-11-25T23:39:00.003+08:00

Met up with an old friend, T who used to worked in Malaysia for more than ten years. He brought us to his favorite diner here which was tucked in one of the many small alleys of Takayama and I have no recollection how we got there. It was a very warm, cozy traditional eatery serving hearty home-cook food.

We had this exquisite fish roes for appetizer.

What is a Japanese dinner without sashimi...

A Korean kimchi soup which was surprisingly tasty. I am not one to eat foreign food when in Japan but I must say this was very good, especially in the cold weather.

A tofu steak.

Basically just mashed tofu with eggs, seafood and cooked in a cast-iron pan. A little too oily and salty for me.

These yakitori were my favorite, grilled just right, moist and tender with just the right balance of seasoning.

Japanese love their sake as much as their food and many of their food are created to compliment the drinks rather than the other way round.
T was showing us how the taste of sake can change with different serving cups.

The Best Soba

2008-11-24T22:36:00.002+08:00

I love soba, a noodle made of buckwheat flour unique to Japan. Whenever given a choice, I would always have it over udon or ramen.

We were strolling around Takayama old town area when we chanced upon this shop.
There was a crowd of people in front taking pictures of this man making fresh soba, so we did what everyone was doing...

I stood there for about 15 minutes just to watch and take pictures of this amazingly skilled noodle maker. He flattened the dough ever so evenly with several sized rollers that were about a meter each in length until the required thinness. It was really amazing as the dough expanded to the size of his working table measuring more than a meter square without a single breakage.
He then folded the thin sheet into this thick pile and sliced through it effortlessly with a steady rhythm. We just couldn't walk away without a sample of this...and so glad we did as we both agreed that this got to be the best soba we have ever tasted.

Cold soba with tempura

Sansei (mountain veggies) soba

Japanese Public Bath

2008-11-19T20:02:00.005+08:00

Am blogging this from Heather's computer in Shanghai and although there is so much to tell about this phenomena city I have no pictures to show as this computer cannot upload the pics from my camera. So that will have to wait until we get home.
As I have tons of Japan's pictures, I would like to talk about my favorite, favorite to-do list whilst in Japan. This is a MUST for me whenever the opportunity arises. The hot spring public bath. I managed to take this rare shot as there wasn't a soul (naked or otherwise) around.
The golden rule, first and foremost, you have to be in your birthday suit, no bikinis, towels or handkerchief. Don't worry, public baths are all like-gender only. And whatever you think you see, do not stare.

Then, scrub and clean every inch of you body from head to toe sitting here by the side of the pool. Only then, you can slowly dip your body into the the hot tub. Be very careful, don't plunge in as the water temperature is about 40c - 42c.

This has been addictive for me since my first dip more than 20 years ago. Heavenly. Guarantee a good night sleep after an episode of this.
My dream is the real outdoor hot spring bath, onsen in a rural ryokan. Maybe next trip...

Hida Beef At Its Best

2008-11-13T00:28:00.002+08:00

Looking through all the food shots I took in this trip, I was appalled. I didn't realized we ate that much and that, I realised was the main reason why my jeans were so uncomfortable and it wasn't the water in Japan which I blamed for shrinking them. We were constantly overdosed on carbohydrates as I couldn't resist the sticky Japanese rice and hubby the ramen and soba.

I won't go into the food meal by meal but instead group them. I'll start with the famous Hidagyu (highland beef) and the many different ways we had them.

Hidagyu hoba miso. Grilled atop a piece of magnolia leave with miso, mushroom and veggie over a charcoal blazier. You cook the beef the way you like it - rare, medium or well done. The leaf lends an amazing flavor to the dish. Best eaten with the gorgeous Japanese sticky rice as the miso can be quite salty.

The traditional sukiyaki done in the most unpretentious homely manner. The hida beef was A5 according to the proprietor of this small restaurant we stumbled upon.

She also took the order, cooked, washed and finally, was the cashier too. The one and only staff in the shop.

She spooned two pieces of these beef fat onto my bowl and insisted I eat it. I hesitated, wanted to pass them to hubby but she made gestures which I guessed meant they were good for my face (how did she know I'd do anything for my face???). I took a bite and needed no more persuasion. They were very light and didn't felt oily at all with a very light buttery fragrance, softer than the tenderest tendon. Never tasted anything like this before and hubby never got to taste any :-b.

The beef in a popular Japanese snack food.

It wasn't that good as the beef was too cooked and I think I still very much prefer the takoyaki, traditional balls with octopus filling.

I saved the best for last...

You have got to taste to believe this beef can be sooo goood. I was lost for words when I took my first bite. Now I understand what it meant when the phrase 'melts in the mouth' is used on meat. This piece of meat is 150g and I could only imagine how much more succulent a 200g piece would taste and hit myself for not ordering that! Can you see how juicy they are?? It was simply cooked with no fuss but perfectly done and the flavor of these black cows is amazing. If you are anywhere near this highland never go away without at least a taste of this. I didn't even bother with the gravy that was provided on the side.

Writing this post is tormenting.

This restaurant, about 20 minutes walk from Takayama train station, is actually more famous for its very own brewed beer called Korikori.

It is called a Be-Pub for beef pub.

The owner who also waits and serves on tables.

He serves three different kinds of beer with very distinct taste each. You can opt for the set, only 700 yen.

This is called Harmony and is only available during the colder months. It has a rich malty taste with a slight coffee flavor.

The draft handle for dispensing Harmony.

I like this one called Alt. It has a light and honey taste. Very light and soothing on the throat but packed with a mighty punch and after downing one glass, all true spirits emerged...

This is where the beer is produced. The brewery is within the shop and can be viewed through a glass window.

Mount Fuji

2008-11-10T20:55:00.002+08:00

We were told that Japanese do not call this mountain Fujiyama but Fujisan because to call it the former would be too disrespectful as this mountain is viewed by all Japanese as sacred. So, any idea why is fujisan more respectful than fujiyama? I don't know as my Japanese is as good as my French.

I have been to Japan many times but where Mt. Fuji is concerned it had been very shy with me and this trip was the only instance I was accorded a full view. Only now I can truly say I have really been to Japan.

The mountain taken from our hotel at night. I do need a stand for this shot, don't I?

An old fashion key to our hotel room, a rarity in today's digital world.

We managed to get to the Kawaguchi fifth station.

I was standing next to this sign for a picture but with the relentless wind I had a whole mop of hair over my face. So I cropped the photo and all you can see is a little of my pink scarf.

The view from here was spectacular and breathtaking and so was the wind. We could hardly place one foot in front of the other without a fight. We didn't stay long as we found our fingers and noses started to freeze.

Today I was told to submit our passports for the Chinese visa and is exactly a week to go before the trip to Shanghai.

Ackk!! Am still acclimatizing to our heat, suitcases in the process of unpacking, the warm clothing are still drying on the line and photos of Japan trip yet to be uploaded to the flickr... this is not a complaint but to this, my hubby would surely say "it's a hard life" with tongue in cheek :-p.

Autumn In Japan

2008-11-08T22:17:00.005+08:00

Arrived home today. Have to just leave you with some Japanese autumn tapestry until I get to sort out the home and this huge pile of photos. With so much waiting to be done and hardly any energy left after the exhilarating but exhausting holiday this could take a while...zzz

Love the autumn colors and the weather in Japan. Heard the cherry blossoms season is glorious too...

To The Land Of The Rising Sun

2008-10-26T00:01:00.005+08:00

Takayama, Japan

By the time you read this, we should be on our way to Narita, Japan. No, I am not blogging from the airplane (is it possible??), I am using the scheduled mode in Blogger, such a handy tool.
Oh yes, we are off again from the Land Below the Wind to the Land of the Rising Sun. Already feeling giddy with the anticipation of seeing the glorious colors of autumn. This is one place we never seem to get enough of.

My sisters, Chiew, Mui and Pit and Pit's daughter are in Japan already (they left yesterday) but unfortunately our itinerary is different and we might not get to meet. I am so proud of them as they are traveling by themselves without a tour guide. They had been burning a lot of midnight oil on the internet, more hardworking than preparing for a major exam... JR pass, midnight bus, shinkanzen, ryokan...ask them anything concerning Japan and they'd pass with flying colors. Mui thinks she can organize a Japan tour group now and the next planned destination is Hokkaido and I signed up already :-). The excitement mounted day by day ever since they bought a very reasonable MAS fare (KK- Narita, Kansai- KK for RM2200 inclusive of all taxes!) at the recent Matta fair. The best part is that it is direct from KK without the tiresome stopover in KLIA.

Meanwhile, I leave you to savor this beautifully bundled delicacy I encountered on our last trip to Japan.

Azuki bean paste enclosed within a very soft, thin layer of mochi. See the golden speck on top? That, I was told, is edible gold flake!

Enjoy...

Sayonara, till we meet again

Muesli And Fruits

2008-10-24T15:23:00.002+08:00

Muesli with mangoes

Muesli with banana

We all know that breakfast is the most important meal of the day and I agreed in theory as logically that totally make sense. Do the math... we are most active in the day time. I know some (especially my brood) will certainly disagree but lets say generally, we have to be active even if we don't feel like it and for that we need energy, right?

But that is only in theory, for me this is the hardest meal to prepare. My family find it difficult to pry open the eyes, least of all, our mouths early in the morning. I used to pack sandwiches for the children to bring to school but after a few encounters with the sandwiches still untouched but squashed in their school bags at the end of the day, I wised up and spent the time in a more conducive manner...zzz.

So for a long time, I have always felt guilty for not preparing the most important meal of the day for them. Motherhood is so saddled with guilt, don't you think? Let's not start that again...

Then I found these... and I have been so so good ;D

Muesli with mix nuts and dried fruits

I got these muesli from Zoelife, a health shop at Heritage, Lintas. We were on our way to BTC, an Indian shop to have some tosai when we came upon this shop. It sells all kinds of health food like Manuka honey, nuts of every kinds, cereals and grains.

This muesli comes in a 500g or 1 kg packing (~RM15/kg). It is pre-packed with rolled oats, raisins, dried apricot, dates, sunflower seeds, melon seeds, sesame seeds and nuts like almond and cashew.

The best thing about this muesli, beside being so healthy and packed with so much goodness, is that it is so easy and fast to prepare.

Soak in hot or cold milk, juices or just plain water for about 10 - 25 minutes. I have tried adding hot milo (just soak for 10 minutes) and Leanne loved it as it is still crunchy. I like it soaked up to about 15 minutes but not longer than that as it tends to get too mashy. I don't add any sugar or honey as I find the dried fruits and the fresh fruits added are sweet enough.

But I better warn you before you go get yourself a 1 kg pack, this is nothing like a tosai, kon lou mein or Kuching laksa. I didn't quite take to it at first when I soaked it for too long and it turned gooey. It also takes a lot of jaw power to chew all the seeds and nuts.

Whenever I have this for breakfast, I could skip lunch and not feel hungry. That suits me just fine as I have vowed to eat healthier and lesser when at home so that I'd feel freer and less guilty to indulge on food binges when on holidays.

I figured I have to make some compromise or I'd only get into trouble but not into my jeans! What with so many tempting delectable but decadent food out there :-p.

Life's Irony

2008-10-22T23:18:00.001+08:00

They bicker non-stop, fight over TV programs, computer time and tease each other endlessly. Forever disagreeing on any issue (except the dog issue) and yet... they can be so close to one another. It was heartbreaking to see them say goodbye.
Bryan left today to start a brand new chapter in his life.
I thought with practice this letting-go part of motherhood would get easier. So very wrong...there is no getting use to as far as this part of the job is concerned.

Remember when he was a baby in my arms and I was thinking how nice to see him all grown up and independent...and now when he is ready to fly, all I want is that moment when he was in my arms...We teach them to reach for the stars but want them to stay grounded at the same time... Life is one big ironical equation, isn't it?

Another irony, it takes distance to bring me closer to my older children. I love them to bits, I know, but I have this incessant urge to nag (all in the name of 'it is for their own good') and pick on them when they were living at home. Now, with them so far away and the nagging out of the way, we can chat for hours (thanks to the internet and phone card or we would all be broke) like good old friends.

Now the house has suddenly become unbearably quiet and I thank God for my two girls whom I hope will stay a while longer... and I must remember... no nagging.

Nishiki @ Kota Kinabalu (II)

2008-10-21T13:26:00.001+08:00

Hey, do you know that Nishiki is also a very famous 400 year-old market in Kyoto? I was surfing the net looking up places of interest in Kyoto, hopefully if all goes well, we'd be walking along this market come November. Keeping my fingers crossed!

Anyway, back to KK's Nishiki, we had dinner here with KT and KH the last night of their stay in KK. They already had Sabah seafood for the past few days so let them have Japanese seafood for a change.

The only reason for coming to Nishiki....

Leanne's sole reason for going into any Japanese restaurant...

Something to go with the sake...

more for the sake...

Lucky us the wagyu promotion was on...yumzz..

The most disappointing dish of the evening...my goreng pisang has crispier batter :p

This was like homemade, coarse texture but very rich with a strong green tea flavor and not overly sweet. I like it.

KT picked up the tab but he said Citibank paid for this lovely meal, thank you.

With Friends

2008-10-20T00:28:00.001+08:00

While KT and KH were here we brought them around our very scenic beaches and resorts. These were the few places we managed within the short time...

Rasa Ria Shangri-la Resort, Pantai Dalit, Tuaran

Nexus Resort, Karambunai

Shangri-la Tanjung Aru

Had a drink at the Borneo Lounge in Shangri-la Tanjung Aru after dinner. It is undoubtably one of the most beautiful hotel in Sabah.

We only realized we hardly go out at all in KK until this trip of KT and KH which brought us to many places we haven't visited in years. I hope they had as much fun as we did.

Introduced them to this fruit unique to Borneo only, the tarap and they love it.

A Day With Nature

2008-10-18T12:25:00.002+08:00

After the rain...

Visited the National Park with a good friend, KT and his son, KH who came over from KL for a few days. KH recently graduated and the dad wanted to spend some quality time with him before KH starts work in January. This is KH's first trip to the Island of Borneo. We thought our park is a must. I was apprehensive about staying in the National Park itself because the last time when we were there, nothing worked, bathroom's taps leaking, cabin was filthy and whole park looked like it was falling apart. Then recently Sutera Resorts took over the park management.

So what awaited us this trip at the park was a very pleasant surprise.

The cabin was very clean, the beds were 5 starred and bathroom fully renovated but I suspect the taps and bathwares were retained from the old which was rather puzzling considering the availability of very cheap and modern wares from China. Anyhow, the place was still 100% better than before. A very substantial breakfast spread (comprised of nasi lemak, two choices of porridge, fried noodles, sausages, an egg station, bread station, beverages...) was provided at the Balsam, the oldest restaurant at the park. We could see a lot of maintenance work going on at the park. Keep up the good work, Sutera Resorts.

Didn't encounter any blog worthy food on the trip but had a feast of the eyes with nature, my next favorite things to shoot. KH was also armed with a D40x Nikon and we went trigger happy...

Hope you had as much fun going through the pictures as I had taking them. Don't ask me to name them as I don't know most of them except the golden needles and the chrysanthemum which are both edible.

I love fire places and the scent of burning firewood. The cabin we stayed in came with this...

And KH was a master at 'fire-starting' (?).

Thank you, KH, for your 'chi kung' but most of all, your thoughtfulness. It was the highlight of the trip for me, sitting in front of the roaring flame, talking about everything and nothing at all.

Pumpkin Chelsea Buns

2008-10-13T07:05:00.001+08:00

The title might differ but this recipe is inspired by the blog, Ganache-ganache, of a young lady who makes amazing cakes and pastry and best of all, takes order for them.

This is her pumpkin buns recipe which I adapted and had a blast with.

I like the look of this recipe because it seems easy. Another reason is also I love playing with yeast dough. I know I can save time and energy using the dough mixer but most times I still prefer using my hands (easier to gauge the moisture of the dough too). It is like playing with my daughter's Play-Doh but better as it comes alive and double in size. And that yeasty scent when the dough comes alive can be very intoxicating not to mention the heavenly aroma when the goodies are in the oven baking...

As usual I tend to improvise whenever I am lacking in some ingredients and always tweak the recipe to accommodate some fussy palates but basically it follows pretty closely to the original recipe except for the sugar part.

Her is sugar free but mine here is definitely not.

I didn't have any honey so I used sugar and I like the idea of filling and a glaze. I was actually toying with the idea of a pumpkin cum gaya jam for a filling but the chelsea buns won . So I went crazy with butter, sugar, raisins and nuts for the filling, didn't I tell you I had fun? Definitely not for people on diet...

My sister, Mui gave me this big pumpkin which had been sitting in the kitchen for weeks. Not wanting to cut it open as I know I had to have enough ways to cook it up fast.

I still have half left even after using some to cook in Terri's style (see how red the pumpkin flesh is) and my usual balsamic glazed.

Following ganache's advice I peeled, steamed and freeze the remainder for future use.

Click here for Ganache-ganache's original sugar-free pumpkin buns.

I halved the recipe as half the household is not in town.

Pumpkin Chelsea Buns

Dough:

300g bread flour

150g pumpkin puree (peeled, steamed, mashed or blended)

40g castor sugar

75 - 80 ml milk (depends on the moisture content of the pumpkin puree)

1 t salt

1 t instant yeast

40g butter, softened

Mix the flour and salt in a large bowl, rub in the butter and stir in the sugar and yeast.

Add in the milk and mix well into a firm dough.

Turn the dough out on a flour surface and knead (my favorite part) for 10 minutes or so until smooth and elastic.

When that is achieved, return it to a floured bowl, cover with a tea towel and leave it in a warm corner for 30 minutes or until the dough doubled in size.

Like this... when the yeasty fragrance is most pronounced and it looks like it is alive.

At this stage, turn out the dough on to a floured surface and knock or punch it down.

Roll out the dough into a square of about 30 cm.

Filling:

1T melted butter

1T brown sugar mix with 1t ground cinnamon

40g raisins (or chocolate chips as Bryan requested)

40g walnuts (coarsely chopped)

Brush with the melted butter.

Sprinkle with the brown sugar and as can be seen from the picture above, half of the dough was sprinkle with raisin while the other half, chocolate chips as requested by Bryan.

After the nuts are sprinkled on, roll the dough up, Swiss roll style.

Cut the roll into 12 slices.

And place them in an oiled 23cm cookie pan. Cover and leave for another 30 minutes until they double in size again.

Meanwhile, preheat oven to 200c.

Bake the buns for 15 minutes or until they are golden.

Leave to cool on a rack.

Glaze:

2T sugar

1 T water

Gently heat the sugar and water until sugar dissolve.

Brush the glaze over the warm buns.

The pumpkin in the buns turned a beautiful golden yellow when baked.

Best serve warm with black coffee without sugar (kopi 'o' kosong).

Hana @ City Mall

2008-10-09T21:19:00.004+08:00

Keshia wanted to celebrate her birthday with a Japanese dinner at Nishiki. I remember seeing a Japanese restaurant in City Mall a while back. I convinced her to try this new Japanese venue and she was happy as long as it is Japanese. So here we are in Hana at City Mall. Very easy to find as it is right across from Big Apple Donuts and Old Town Kopitiam.

We ordered a dish of sushi first before everything else and decided we were better off in Nishiki as far as raw seafood was concerned. So we went for the sets and cooked dishes and was pleasantly surprised as we found the food to be pretty good. Service was fast and efficient even with a near full house.

Ebi (prawn) tempura @RM18. Very fresh prawns with a thin, light and crisp batter. A winner.

I enjoyed the Yasai (veggie) tempura @RM1o very much.

Especially this fresh shiitaki tempura.

The birthday girl's choice. Chicken teriyaki set @RM16.

Unagi set @Rm 28.

This Amiyaki Gyu Don@RM18 is voted the set of the night. There were about 5 pieces of reasonably sized slivers of beef. Grilled lightly with a most inviting smoky scent and according to Bryan, the owner of this winning dish, very tender and tasty but he never offer to share...*sigh*

He just held them up to show us...*sigh*.

We had a beef teriyaki @RM20 and saba steak @RM19 too. And some side dishes from the 'Train', yes, they have the self service tram too. I don't remember why I didn't take any pictures of these dishes...most probably distracted by the Gyu Don and also the speed the food was devoured didn't leave any room for focusing.

All the sets came with the usual pickles, chawan mushi and miso soup.

The dinner ended on a sweet note with this complimentary dessert.

I wouldn't mind coming back here again when we want some simple Japanese dishes. Will try their noodle dishes the next time.

If you are not a sashimi fan, this would be a great Japanese joint.

Macao 2008

2008-10-08T00:50:00.006+08:00

Ruins of St. Paul's. The remaining southern stone facade of the cathedral

About time I blog about Macao, this is a long, long overdue post. It has been more than six months since this trip to Shenzhen and Hong Kong with two of my sisters and a niece. Macao was actually my favorite leg of the whole trip.

I love it here simply because there weren't any frantic shopping and huge crowd to negotiate as in HK and Shenzhen.

From Shenzhen we took a comfortable chartered van that cost us about rmb 700 to Macao. Hassle-free from the hotel in Shenzhen right to the border at Zhu Hai.

With only one day in Macao we knew we had a lot of grounds and food to cover. Let me squeeze everything in one post to show you what we ate and saw in pictures...

This reads 'Famous Double skin steamed milk'.

We found this shop right next to the tourism center at the splendid Largo Do Senado (main square at down town), walking distance to St. Paul's Ruin.

The original dessert with ginger juice. Very exquisitely smooth texture with a delicate and light flavor.

As I love anything with red beans, I opted for the above...pure bliss...

Mok Yi Kei, very popular for its puddings and ice-cream desserts.

The most famous has got to be its durian ice-cream. Amazingly infused with the essence and pulp of the king of fruits but I would have preferred a softer and creamier texture.

Wing Lai Yuen, a famous restaurant featured on one of our Malaysian's TV food program.

Too bad didn't have a proper meal here but the noodles (forgot what it was called, dan dan mein or something like that) we had for a snack were pretty substantial and yummy.

The Dumbo Restaurant, a famous Portuguese Restaurant

Followed Precious pea's review and i just had to give it a try or I would be going home feeling mission unaccomplished (???)... :P

Grilled quails. Very flavorful but a little dry.

Loved this braised pig's neck. Moist and delicious with a most aromatic smoky flavor.

Most famous portuguese-style egg tarts. These we doggy bagged from Dumbo Restaurant and as I remembered they were disappointingly dry and overly sweet.

Not satisfied, we had another round early next morning at one of the stores near the Ruins of St. Paul. They were delicious and I realized they are best eaten piping hot. The best, we were told are those from Margaret's Cafe & Nata but alas, we never get near enough to taste them. A good enough reason for me to come back to Macao again...

Loved each and every one of these quaint narrow alleyways that we found at almost every turn.

Especially the cobblestone ones.

This historical site was near the Venetian Hotel. We chanced upon it while walking towards the casino.

Very well preserved buildings that are now transformed into museum and galleries.

Beautiful dahlias everywhere.

Inside the Venetian, the world's largest casino resort (for now) which opened in August 2007. It boasts 3,000 luxurious suites and the biggest casino (about 600,000 sq. feet) in the world.

Amazing indoor canals and gondolas, duplicating Venice.

A masked artist performing a classical piece creating a mood similar to the carnivals in Venice.

Birthdays And Cupcakes

2008-10-05T15:38:00.004+08:00

What in the world are these??? My birthday cake??? Yes, happy birthday, Keshia!!!

Can't make out what we are trying to spell???...HAPPY B DAY KESH and of course a heart-shape. It was supposed to spell 'HAPPY BIRTHDAY KESHIA' but the cupcake recipe yielded only 16 small cakes when I clearly needed 19, so I had to abbreviate. We got hungry half way thru the job and devoured the extras.

Kesh, we hope you like these cup cakes which we took one whole morning painstakingly created especially for you. We know they don't look professional at all, but they are filled with lots and lots of love.

When I decided to make a cake for Keshia's birthday, I know it would be a near impossible task for me to make a cake and decorate it, convincingly that is.

So I took a baby step and go small, cupcake small. I figured that would be a piece of cake (not exactly!).

Surfed through the internet and looked through the recipes of all those bloggers I admire (namely terri, nee, ganache..) who can so easily whip out such awesome work of art one after another.

Hopefully by going into their blogs their magic might rub off on me :p. And of course, to look for tips. I needed all the help I could get.

Nee's butter cream looked sooo beautiful and satin smooth but I wasn't confident enough to attempt the sugar syrup thing and I wasn't so sure of the freshness of the eggs I have in the fridge.

I don't want coloring and plasticky whipped cream, so I ended up doing butter icing, plain and with melted dark chocolate for contrast.

Certainly not a piece of cake as I thought. The icing was not as obedient as I expected and the cheap plasticky whatcumicallit I bought specially for this task was not much help either.

The icing landed not only on the cakes but also our hands, table and floor. I should have done this when our part-time helper was in.

I know now why I never like working with icing...it is the cleaning up. I had to mop the floor with detergent, if only I could pour hot water over it like i did the oily dishes!

Thank goodness for this cupcake stand from Mee Fung and the smarties which Leanne insisted we needed. They certainly helped to make these little cakes more presentable.

By the time I got to this last cupcake, I was finally getting the hang of it and enjoying it...Leanne and myself had a really fun time decorating...

and eating these as we worked...

And the look on Keshia's face was priceless when she walked in and we surprised her with the cakes. Happy birthday, my girl.