No Bake Chocolate Cake

I don't know about you, but I didn't accomplish much today. I slept in, halfheartedly ran a few errands, accumulated flowers wherever I went, and spent a good amount of time arranging poppies & peonies into a hodgepodge of mason jars and vases. Flowers aside, I dedicated ten minutes making this chocolate cake. It's the ultimate lazy chocolate dessert. And while I think of it as a no bake chocolate cake, you wouldn't be far off if you called it a slice-able truffle. If you have a some dark chocolate, cream, and something to infuse the cream with, you're in business.

No Bake Chocolate Cake

This is the sort of thing I'll throw together if we're having friends over for dinner and I run out of steam on the dessert front. It's less trouble to make than it is to go out and buy something. A small slice goes the distance. It's intense, it's hardcore chocolate, and paired with a touch of whipped cream it's a total crowd-pleaser. I infused the cream used in the cake with espresso and allspice in this version, but you could play it straight, or take it in any direction you're inclined.

No Bake Chocolate Cake

The choice of pan warrants a mention. You end up with with ~ two cups of batter, and for the most part you can pour that into any small-ish, parchment-lined cake pan you like. The parchment is important if you ever want to get the cake out of the pan. For this cake, I used a little loaf pan I like, but I've done this in small spring-form pans, and on occasion little tart pans. Just keep in mind, a bigger pan will mean a thinner slice. A small loaf pan like this yields a deeper slice, and so on. It's hard to screw! up - I mean, it's a slice-able truffle cake.

Continue reading No Bake Chocolate Cake...


"Yes, I am truly in New York...

...and am not happy about it."

A few months before I am in New York, I was so psyched about New York. I have watched countless Hollywood films when I was a child, was once addicted to Gossip Girl and Chuck Bass (and am ashamed of it), and curious about the Trump Towers.

A few minutes prior to arriving New York, I felt a shiver of excitement trickling down my spine. And Frank Sinatra was belting out "I wanna wake up in the city that never sleeps" into my ears.

When I am truly in New York, like smack bang in the middle of the whole New York action, I can tell you, I absolutely despised it. I do not know why. Suddenly, I was missing Boston. Missing is an understatement. I was dying to crawl back to Boston, if I had the chance to. Boston, was a far brighter city, and the air is fresher. People are less rude. You rarely hear honks.

People often compare New York to Hong Kong but Hong Kong is a hundred times better. Hong Kong is meticulous no matter where you go. There is a sense of order. Even in the burbs.

New York, on the other hand, is messy. Messy, messy, messy. On the streets, you are bound to elbow someone because that someone walks in a zig-zag direction. From your car, you will see a mess of mustard yellow, the colour of competitive cabs. That shade of yellow is so ugly and artificial that you just want to scrub the colour off your the mental blackboard with mental Chlorox. The subway IS dirty and you have to swipe the Metro Card with confidence or else you will be rejected. The streets are either awfully narrow or awfully broad. You see the poorest of people and the wealthiest of them all. Buildings are either spanking new, equipped with the latest designs or rickety old, like the Fashion Institute of Technology (the lifts are older than my mom, I'm so sure of it). Not many will smile at you. It is common if they don't ask for your name. New York evolves so quickly that Ground Zero has lost the solemnity that it used to have. When I walked past it, I felt this sense ! of remor se but everyone else seemed so unaffected. I actually could not bear to stand next to Ground Zero because it was so heart wrenching. So many people have died. I was in a country that was so far away yet when the realization hit me that people were jumping out of the There's smog everywhere in New York and I actually came home smelling like smog. I took a shower and there was no hot water. My brain froze in the shower room and there was no ventilation to get rid of the sickeningly sweet perfume from my pomengranate bodywash.

















New York is not as pretty as what one sees in the silver screen and this is the truth. New York, like the food in the restaurants that I have hoped to enjoy today but failed to, IS OVERRATED. One watches so much about New York. When I was in my teens, I watched a food programme that featured Pastis and Spice Market. Both are swanky places in the Meatpacking District but yours truly is very disappointed with her meals because when yours truly turned into a girl in her early adulthood, she became increasingly health conscious.

This became a problem because Pastis is a place for you to get fat and the ! Spice Ma rket did not have the healthiest of choices even though the menu looks healthy. The reason for me having dinner in two different places today was that I could not stand eating the Pork Milanese that I ordered from Pastis. It was too greasy and was sitting on a pool of oil. Now, I truly understand why did that New York Times reviewer gave Pastis a 1 out of 4. I would do the same, based on the Pork Milanese. It was disgusting and the place, which may impress a francophile, was just so cramped like New York itself. Fortunately, it costs 25 USD and the salad was quite edible (Note the usage of "quite").

I hopped on to Spice Market because I saw tables with bowls of colourful vegetables that were shredded into very thin strips. I trusted my instincts and foolishly made two very wrong choices. I ordered one crunchy squid salad with papaya and fennel and spicy noodles with silken tofu and greens. Reason for ordering two dishes? They were supposed to be appetizers. Big mistake. The portions were way too big. The crunchy squid meant fried squid, not crunchy as in the adjective. The noodles were actually yellow in colour and I do not consume noodles that are yellow in colour, unless they are made of potato starch. Plus, the broth is too rich (I was told it was clear). Fortunately, the salad was edible and the dressing had a little salted egg yolk in it. The noodles had generous amounts of green and the tofu was amazing. It was very silky and satisfied my craving for tofu.

In the end, I hated myself for making the wrong decisions. So far, everything has went wonderful in Boston. My mom praised my for my correct shopping decisions. My sister loved the stuff that I got for her. The stuff that I ate in Boston exceeded my expectations (Boston is not a culinary city unlike New York) and I actually thought that Boston would have sub-standard food.

I was wrong. New York was the one that dazzled on the outside but was quite underwhelming i! n realit y. However, there are certain things that I felt happy about in New York. For instance, I was struck by the kindness of the janitor in FIT. The dorm room that I was residing in FIT had no garbage bin. So, I went down to the lobby and in my mind, I had this idea of asking the security guard for a garbage bin. Instead, I saw the janitor! So, I asked her for the garbage bin. She actually brought it up to where I lived! I was going to tip her because I read the horrible stuff about "low skilled" workers and felt that many people in New York doing these so called "low skilled jobs" must be living really horrible lives. She refused the tip and said the most wonderful things that I've ever heard to me! I was so touched that I did not know what to say!

Also, Whole Foods impresses me. I love Whole Foods. Period. Then again, Whole Foods is everywhere in the US!

As I am typing this out, a thought came across me. Boston and New York are like two different guys. Boston is the one who inherited a large amount of money from his parents but never touches much of it. In fact, he saves it He is a hard worker, reasonably smart, neat and organized, not very witty and conservative. New York got his riches from scratch, spends a lot of time grooming highly intelligent, sporadic, messy, open to opportunities but cold on the inside.

Sorry New York but I don't really like the wild. Maybe I will love you but maybe I will not even after I am done with you.


Little things: PASTIS

-Cuisine: TRADITIONAL French, Bistro

-Ambience: Very European. Leather seats are peeling off by the way. Hot. Noisy. Packed. Grimy. A place to do some people-watching and be watched. Pretty people walk in and out of the place. They dress very nicely and it makes you wonder, how can they still be a size zero and eat all that grease!

-Service! : Too ov erwhelming that it chokes me.

-Portions: GINORMOUS. You go here to get fat. Take note of that. If you're thinking healthy, this is not the place for you.

-Budget: Damage done was 26 USD. It was a 26 USD that I did not want to pay. Can you believe I actually said that? As a result, I am going to punish myself and have only fruits and greens for breakfast and lunch/dinner for two days. I feel incredibly guilty.

-Other information:

Pastis on Urbanspoon


Little things: Spice Market

-Cuisine: South East Asian cuisine as interpreted by Jean-Georges. I think most dishes are not bad, from the way they look.

-Ambience: Please sit on the inside. It's way swankier and very exotic. Plus, you may spot some rich and famous people. I spotted lots of pretty people on the inside. They look so pretty that I was envious!

-Portions: Reasonable. Not too bad.

-Budget: 20 USD spent. It's not a waste but still... I am unhappy. Therefore the self-imposed punishment is justified.

-Other information:

Spice Market on Urbanspoon



SIBU 2011: Rebecca Saw takes the fear factor challenge & eats a live fat sago worm!

Inconjunctionwith the launch of Firefly Airlines inaugural flight to Sibu, Im now in Sibu for a 3 days 2 nights fam trip!
This is my first ever visit to Sibu, and one of the highlights of my trip was just yesterday morning, during our visit to the largest market in Malaysia - The Sibu Central Market.
We managed to buy the infamous sago worms & eat it live!

This is how the worms looked like.

Sibu, sarawak - live sago worms.08

Sibu, sarawak - live sago worms.59

And this is how YOU EAT IT!

Oh yea!! *thumbs up*
So, any of you had experienced eating it before?? What do YOU think?

For those who have not sampled this delicacy before (LOL), would YOU have dared to eat it LIVE?? Would you??:P


JULY 2011: Media Trip to Sibu, Sarawak with Firefly

As some of you may know, Im CURRENTLY in Sibu, Sarawak on a media fam trip with Firefly!
Follow my adventures over the next 2 days as I explore Sibu! Do drop me a comment on what to try, buy or see here in Sibu; I appreciate all comments/suggestions/feedback!:P

Propose program for Media on FireFly KUL/SBW Inaugural Flight to Sibu.

Day 01 1 July 2011

0915 hrs : ETA Sibu Airport, meet & greet, simple welcoming in Sibu Airport
1030 hrs : Check-in Hotel
1130 1230 hrs : Press Conference at Hotel
1230 1400 hrs : Lunch with local delicacies
1400 1600 hrs : Sibu Town Tour
1630 1800 hrs : Rejang River Cruise
: Visit Sibu Pasar Malam
1930 2130 hrs : Dinner at hotel

Day 02 2 July 2011

0800 hrs : FAM Trip starts
- Visit Sibu Central Market, Rajang Esplanade, Sibu Heritage Centre, Lau King Howe Memorial Museum. Identify Sibu local products and shopping
- Transfer to Yu Long Shan Temple (Combination of Buddism, Taoism & Confuses)
1200 1400 hrs : Lunch in Restaurant with local delicacies
1400 1600 hrs : Briefing and promo at Sibu Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry
1700 hrs : Transfer to Bawang Assan Longhouse to attend Gawai Tourism 2011 and Ngiling Bidai Gawai 2011
1800 hrs : ETA at Bawang Assan Longhouse
- Traditional welcoming
1900 hrs : Arrival of VVIP
- Miring and Bebiau (Iban traditional blessing)
- Speech
- Dinner served
2100 hrs : Gawai Tourism 2011 activities begins (Kumang, Beranyai, Betabuh/Ngajat, Ngiling Tikai)
0000 hrs : Function over
- Depart back to hotel

Day 03 3 July 2011
0700 hrs : Breakfast
0800 hrs : Check-out and transfer to Bintangor, Sarikei Countryside & Ulu Sarikei for Nature & Soft Adventure Trip.
1500 hrs : Back to Sibu
1700 hrs : Dinner1830 hr s : Transfer to Sibu Airport

Thanks Firefly for the opportunity!:P

And who wants kompian??? Im buying loads back!!


Hanare

Hanare: Round Seven. Earlier entries: Feb. 2, Feb. 6, Feb. 8, Feb 10, Feb. 24 & July 1.

Here are more items from Hanare's recently revised menu. We loved the assorted fish cakes, flown in from Tsukiji market. These offered a firm but succulent bite, filled with more flavor compared to regular Chinese-style fish cakes.

Sashimi salad with ponzu sauce. Brimming with the freshest of raw fish available at any Japanese restaurant in KL; no substandard ingredients here.

Wasabi leaves. These lack the spicy pungency of wasabi root, but they make up for it with a refreshingly herbaceous flavor and a fascinating texture _ a cross betwe! en celer y & spinach.

Hokkaido corn. Very nice; mildly sweet and delicately juicy.

Mentaiko maniacs should adore this potato teppanyaki with spicy cod roe. Absolute comfort food, thanks to the mouthwatering mix of buttery carbs & gooey cheese.

Also marvelous: mentaiko-stuffed omelet. If you think you'll like this, you will (for sure).

Hanare,
Ground Floor, The Intermark,
Jalan Tun Razak, Kuala Lumpur.
Tel: 03-2164-2133

Danke.

www.michelle-chin.com was featured in the property section of Malaysia's leading English tabloid, the Star. I would like to take this opportunity to thank my dear readers for supporting this blog and keeping it going. This blog would not have gotten here in the first place if not for you lovelies. Also, special thanks to Daniel, who considered me as a potential interviewee. Have a great weekend ahead. xoxo Michelle

To see the interview, click here

Kafe Betawi (Jakarta)

Kaf Betawi is a chain of Indonesian food restaurants located in various malls in Jakarta. I tried the one in Plaza Indonesia.

Their concept is to sell typical street food dishes in a clean and cozy atmosphere. The prices are low, especially for malls and they are usually popular venues to eat probably for this reason.

We had a few dishes in Kafe Betawi:
Nasi Ulam Komplit (Rp35,000++)Babat Goreng (Rp20,000++)

Ayam Goreng Kuning (Rp21,000++)Nasi Goreng Kambing (Rp35,000++)
Overall: The food is decent, but certainly not the best Indonesian food you will find in Jakarta. Considering the prices and the friendly service! though, I will probably come back the next time I need a simple, good-value meal inside a mall.
List of branches in Jakarta:
Kafe Betawi Gandaria
Main Street Mall - Gandaria City
UG - M-U36, Jalan KH. Syafi'i Hadzani (Gandaria), 1224 Jakarta

Kafe Betawi Kelapa Gading 1 Mall
Jalan Boulevard Kelapa Gading, 14240 Jakarta

Kafe Betawi Mall of Indonesia (MOI)
Kelapa Gading Square
Jalan Arta Gading Timur, 14240 Jakarta

Kafe Betawi Emporium Pluit Mall
Jalan Pluit Selatan Raya, 14450 Jakarta

Kafe Betawi Pluit Junction
Jalan Pluit Raya, 14450 Jakarta

Kafe Betawi Central Park Mall
L-238, Jalan Letjen. S. Parman, 11470 Jakarta
Phone number: +62-21 569 85066

Kafe Betawi Plaza EX - Plaza Indonesia
Jalan MH. Thamrin, 10350 Jakarta
Phone number: +62-21 319 09337

Kafe Betawi Shopping Town West Mall - Grand Indonesia
LG#08, Jalan MH. Thamrin, 10350 Jakarta
Phone number: +62-21 2358 0500

Kafe Betawi Pacific Place Mall
5th FL No. 01, Jalan Jendral Sudirman, 12190 Jakarta

Kafe Betawi Pondok Indah Mall 1
Jalan Metro Pondok Indah, 12310 Jakarta

Kafe Betawi Senayan City
Podium Level L - 07, Jalan Asia Afrika, 10270 Jakarta

Canteen (Jakarta)

Canteen is a hip restaurant located in Pacific Place and Plaza Indonesia. In both places, they are next to the bookstore Aksara, to which they are related.

I visited the Canteen in Plaza Indonesia during the afternoon on a Saturday. It was quite crowded, with expats and visibly rich, cool Indonesians. Some of them looked familiar and could have been actors or singers. At night, I think it is best to make a reservation.

I liked the setting, in particular the fact that it is in a quiet part of the mall. With large windows letting a lot of light inside, and comfortable seats, it is a cozy venue, designed to be a hangout spot as much as a restaurant. Their menu features continental food, with mostly Italian dishes.

Everything seemed fine until I ordered my food: Salad Nioise (Rp55,000++), Rib-eye steak (Rp110,000++), Bruschetta (Rp45,000++), and Orange juice. A 2-course meal with soft drink should cost you around Rp200,000+. To give you an idea of how expensive it is, in some 5-stars hotel restaurants in Jakarta, you can have a lunch menu at the same price.
Salad Nioise (Rp55,000++)
Bruschetta (Rp45,000++)
Rib-eye grilled steak (Rp110,000++)
First, I didn't get a good feeling when I found out the orange juice had been mixed with water. In other restaurants in Jakarta, they usually hide it by putting ice in your glass, but I had asked for none so instead they used this trick. They could have given me half a glass I would have been happier.

The Bruschetta was fine, just overpriced in my opinion for some simple toasts with tomatoes and olive oil. The presentation was fine though.

The Salad was a miss. I don't want to make a big fuss about it, but I think I should mention that I found a white worm in it. I know it can happen even with fresh food though, so it should not be the main focus point. What is more important is that it tasted average and the ingredients used were low-quality. Each bites felt cheap: The tuna, the tomatoes, the beans, the sauce. No matter how good the chef is, if you don't use good ingredients, you end up with low-end restaurants dishes.
At last, there wasn't any incident with the rib-eye steak, but it was low-quality beef, not tasty nor tender.

Overall: I don't have any grudge about Canteen. I even feel sorry for the staff who was very friendly. But I think Canteen should be avoided because it is expensive and they don't give you anything decent in return, even for the drinks. The waiters were nice and efficient, though maybe a bit understaffed. I should mention that I didn't have to pay for my meal because of the worm.
Opening Hours:
Everyday from 11am to midnight (until 2am on weekends)

Canteen
Plaza Indonesia
5th Floor #E02-E10
Phone number: +62-21 315 6537
Fax: +62-21 319 01149

In Pacific Place:
4th Floor SCBD
Phone number: +62-21 579 73742
Fax: +62-21 579 73754


The Academy of Pastry Arts Malaysia

Last weekend I had the privilege of attending a 2 day tarts class in The Academy of Pastry Arts. Thanks to Jade of Mustard Tree for inviting. It was too bad that I could only attend 1 day and not both of them. Having attended the patisserie course in Le Cordon Bleu many years ago, this session was more of a reminiscence and a refreshment for me especially when Im not entirely working in a pastry kitchen. The Academy of Pastry Arts is an institute for you to learn more about baking and pastry. Nope were not talking about mediocre (sorry for the rough description but just sometimes I feel it is like that) baking classes from unknown and unqualified people, The Academy has a group of talented pastry chefs from France and also locally as well. They also do have highly (and I meant, really HIGHLY) qualified and famous pastry chefs coming into the academy as guest lecturers for the more advance classes in their Continuing Education for Professionals.which I am really tempted to go to (oh chocolate truffles and bon bons I miss you so much!)

For the class, we were thought how to make quiche, choux puffs and eclairs. Chef Guillaume Lejeune was our chef lecturer that day. Firstly of course he would do a short demo on how he would make the shortcrust, then it would be our turn to make it. I was happy that each of us made our own products as I believe, working hands on in a class helps you understand better rather than just watching and trying to remember everything.

Without much babbling, here are some of the pictures from the class. Oh have I not mentioned, I attended the class with Veronica of QuayPo Cooks and Sonia of NasiLemakLover. Here we go!

#1 Chef Lejeunne show us how to line roll the pastry and line it for the quiche. Chef Lejeunne is a graduate in Pastry Arts (BTM en Patissier) and CAP Ptissier- Chocolatier- Glacier- Traiteur, is the Director of Pastry Arts for the Academy of Pastry Arts Malaysia. He has been trained under some of the great Pastry Chefs ( M.O.F) of France. He has also taught in Qatar for 4 years before coming to Malaysia.

#2 Sonia and Veron concentrating on their shortcrust dough.

#3 yours truly getting em hands dirty as well!

#4 Tarts lined, grated cheese spreaded, spincha leaves scattered and cherry tomatoes halved. Simple ingredients, vibrant flavour.

#5 Now filled with Royale, then sent to bake!

#6 Tadahh (sorry mate, flourescent light above, hence the reflection) Oh boy it smelt so good.. ~~

Next up would be Choux and Eclairs.

#7 Chef showing us how to prepare the craquelin, which is a dough of butter, brown sugar and flour before being put into the freezer then cut into shapes to be put on top of the choux puffs. I had wanted to learn this as during my time when I had my course, craquelin wasnt that widely available yet.

#8 Chef piping the eclairs to be filled with Chocolate creme patisserie later!

#9 We then made the choux dough and pipped it too! Im pretty happy that my eclairs and choux are piped consistently. The brown layers on top are the craquelin. Whats next? Baking time!

#10 The oven room. Just a tip, when baking choux, dont open the oven till its all puffed up and browned. Otherwise it would sink and become flat.

#11 baked eclairs and choux. HUGE!!

#12 Chef fills the eclair with chocolate creme patisserie which we had made it earlier so it is chilled and ready to be piped.

#13 Chox puffs with Creme Chantilly. Yum I love whipped cream

All in all, it was a fun and joyful session. Im glad that there are more baking and pastry schools opening up in Malaysia, opening up our minds on the wide horizon of the world of pastry!

Here are my two cents. If you are intending to enroll in a pastry course, whether to be a professional, or just for leisure, it wouldnt hurt to attend a day or two at the institute just to get a feel of how the place works before committing into a long term course. If you want to make it as a professional, be very sure to check what kind of certification or accreditation the institute offers.

Also, do ask around if there are any alumnis and/or ex-students and get their opinion.I have received alot of emails asking about Le Cordon Bleu the past few years but they have stopped since I shut down the other blog which contains alot of my work in LCB and the recipes. I may one day, import them all here (minus the recipes).. :)

Most importantly, ask yourself if youre really passionate about it.