Foldies going up to Genting Sempah from Gombak
Nine Cyclists were gathered at Gombak near Hospital Orang Asli for a ride to Genting Sempah. It was my maiden ride to such a hilly route (I was told it is only a mild hill). Though the weather was hazy but it was a good day as the sun has beenshieldedby the haze.
While awaiting to start the ride fellow cyclists would admire bikes of others and some ensuring their bikes are in good condition before it's being used.
At midway we took a breather and I like the beautiful scenery.
I realised that my Dahon Speed P8 was running out of gears to go uphill and required a lot of my legs energy. These two friends were so relax and I just wish I could have their bikes.
This old road to Bentong is a popular route for cyclists especially during the weekends except cyclists have tobe carefulwith occasional heavy vehicles.
The old Bentong road is much higher than Karak Highway, no wonder is cool at old Bentong road. The lowest temperature was 24 degree C.
I made it up to Genting Sempah with my Dahon Speed P8 and fortunately the group wasn't going any further from thispoint.
Other cyclists seen at the same spot with us resting and preparing to ride back.
One of the rider encountered a punctured tyre, cyclists are taught to be well prepared with the spare tube & simple tools to rectify such problem. All was done in a short time. Bravo!!!
And all were ready to continue the ride, it was an easy home ride down hill most of the time, breezy & so soothing....
Approachingthe starting line where we were a couple of hours earlier.
Finally we completed the ride and it was another good ride.
It was time to reward ourselves with a good meal - Sang Har Mein.
Bitter Gourd Hor Fun
And not forgetting a delicious Malaysian ABC icy delicious dessert.
Just for the record the distance covered for this ride was nearly 34km.
Happy Happy mum mum @ Air Panas Food Court near the Market. And we shall ride again ....see you!!!Painting the town Red Velvet
KUALA LUMPUR, June 17 Walk into any cafe or gourmet restaurant and you will most probably find Red Velvet cake on the menu. The latest craze in the pastry world is the ambiguously named cake that is usually found in a reddish hue, topped with cream cheese frosting.
The Daily Grind's towering Red Velvet with French butter cream is luscious and luxurious. Picture by Choo Choy May.
I see photos of it on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. I hear people gushing about it. One things for sure, when Malaysians go crazy about food fads, you get dragged into it as well (literally and figuratively).
I first discovered Red Velvet in the form of a cupcake at Wondermilk in 2008 when I ordered a dozen for my 24th birthday (yes, now you know my age). According to Wondermilk, their Red Velvet flavour has been around since 2003. But back then, I dont think I could find Red Velvet in the form of cakes. 
Just Heavenly's Red Velvet is a sight to behold and it is a best-seller at their outlets. Picture by Choo Choy May.
Fast forward to 2006 and Just Heavenly introduces their Red Velvet cake at their Plaza Damansara outlet. Nigel Skelchy of Just Heavenly decided to add Red Velvet cake to the menu because his friend was raving about the cake he tasted in the United States.
Skelchy tried at least eight different recipes before he decided that his Red Velvet was ready to be sold. He uses natural occurring colouring to give the Red Velvet its colour.
Examples of natural occurring colouring are beetroot and strawberries which are used to give the Red Velvet its reddish colour. How Red Velvet gets its colour and flavour is when an acidic s! ubstance like Dutch processed cocoa reacts to buttermilk which are both used in Red Velvet.
We use buttermilk in our recipe and our Red Velvet is actually similar to New Yorks Waldorf Astoria Hotels. We used that to springboard our version, said Skelchy.
Fatboybakes.blogspot.com is another place to check out Red Velvet if you are interested. They do not have a retail shop so you have to order your Red Velvet through the bakers blog.
If you are uncomfortable about the red colouring, Fatboybakes also offers Chocolate Cheese Velvet where instead of pure cream cheese sandwiching the layers, it has a layer of dark chocolate cream, a layer of cream cheese, and topped with dark chocolate ganache. 
Fatboybakes' Red Velvet is only sold online.
Cheng Yi of Fatboybakes only found out about Red Velvet when he went to a sampling session organised by (surprise, surprise!) Nigel Skelchy. He also remembers coming across Red Velvet while watching an episode of Brothers and Sisters, an American TV series.
Fatboybakes rendition of the Red Velvet uses beetroot because it gives an earthy flavour, one that is personally favoured by the baker himself.
I think Red Velvet is a novelty and it appeals more to females. Some places, it is just red coloured sponge cake, said Cheng Yi when I asked him what he thought about the craze. Now that I think about it, I never see men raving about Red Velvet cake. Unless of course, they are dragged into it by their girlfriends, wives or female friends.
Another place where you can find Red Velvet cake is The Daily Grind and unlike most places where cream cheese frosting is used, thier take on the popular cake is topped with French butter cream frosting. This un! ique top ping gives The Daily Grinds Red Velvet a very light cake that is easy on your palate.
Our version of the Red Velvet uses buttermilk, chocolate and cream. It is fluffy, delicious and old-fashioned. Old-fashioned in a way that we use French butter cream frosting which invokes nostalgia. We did not use cream cheese because it is heavy, and if you noticed our Red Velvet is a large cake so if we were to use cream cheese and other heavy ingredients, it would not be so popular, said Yeoh Way Cheng, owner of The Daily Grind.
Yeoh tells me that they tried experimenting with American recipes that uses white icing but it was not the same. But it is a good thing they stuck to French butter cream frosting because it is the best-selling cake at The Daily Grind.
A warning though, the cake is a generous portion so unless if you are starving, it is best shared with a group of people. When it is brought to the table though, you can be sure everyone is impressed with this beautiful slice of Red Velvet. 
Whisk's Red Velvet cake and cupcake use different types of frosting. Picture by Lydia Koh.
Like many cafes selling cakes, Whisks Red Velvet is the best-seller among patrons. The family-run business has two versions of Red Velvet in the form of cupcakes and cakes.
We experimented with many recipes and tweaked until we created the version of Red Velvet we have today. Basically our cake has buttermilk, cocoa and vanilla and it gives out this moist, decadent and luxurious texture. For our cupcakes we use butter cream cheese frosting while we use sugar icing cream cheese for our cakes, said Nora Khalid, co-founder of Whisk.
And j ust when you thought you got this whole Red Velvet thing figured out, Wondermilk announced their Foxy Red Velvet Smoothie in April so those who are addicted to the Red Velvet flavour should check it out.
Where to indulge in Red Velvet:
Just Heavenly: Bangsar Shopping Centre, Pavilion Kuala Lumpur, Jaya One, Ampang
Fatboybakes: http://fatboybakes.blogspot.com
The Daily Grind: Lower Ground, Bangsar Village I
Whisk: Empire Shopping Gallery, 1 Utama
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Cooking class with Les Amis Singapore's Chef Galvin Lim at Mandarin Oriental KL
A stalwart of the Singapore fine dining scene, Les Amis Restaurant is the flagship fine dining French restaurant of the Les Amis Group. Since its opening in 1994, Les Amis has garnered numerous awards over the years including being ranked No.53 on The World's 50 Best Restaurantsin 2012. It is also ranked 19th on The Miele Guide's Asia Top 20 for 2011/2012.
A collaboration of KL and Singapore's finest...
Last Friday, I was invited to the Mandarin Grill in Mandarin Oriental KL for a cooking class with Les Amis Group's Executive Chef, Galvin Lim. I had so much fun during my last cooking class with 1-Michelin star Chef Igor Macchia at Mandarin Oriental KL so I was really looking forward to this masterclass with Chef Galvin too.
Of Singaporean descent, Chef Galvin has undergone training in some of the world's most renowned kitchens such as Lameloise in Burgundy, Le Gavroche in London, L'Auberge des Cimes in St Bonnets les Froids Rangis Macon and Les Elysees du Vernet in Paris under Alain Soliveres. In 2008, Chef Galvin earned himself the Commanderie of Cotes de Bordeaux, one of France's highest recognitions for chefs and sommeliers.
Marinated white asparagus, crispy egg, mushrooms and herbs
During the cooking class, we were taught three of Les Amis's signature culinary delights, which uses the finest and fresh! est ingr edients. Chef Galvin is fond of using seasonal ingredients, some of which he displayed during the cooking class is the white asparagus from France, black truffles from Australia and Sakura ebi from Japan.
The first dish demonstrated to us was the marinated white asparagus with crispy egg, morel mushrooms and herbs.
Chef Galvin Lim and his team, sous chef Joon and Alan.
Ingredients for the day
Chef Joon teaching Julie, one of the cooking class's participant how to remove the fibrous skin off the white asparagus.
To cook the white asparagus, use boiling water with sugar, salt, butter, lemon juice and bread (to absorb some of the bitterness from the asparagus).
Marinating the white asparagus with the cooking liquid with added white wine vinegar and extra virgin olive oil.
Plating of the dish was a delight to watch!
One of the interesting things I learnt from the class was how to cook the perfect poached egg. The egg is placed into a steam oven at 70C for 15 mins before being removed and put into boiling water until the white firms up. Beautiful eggs everytime! The egg is the wrapped in thinly sliced ciabatta bread before pan frying to achieve the crispy exterior. I assure you, it's very delicious and paired beautifully with the white asparagus and morel mushrooms.
A work of art. Gorgeous!
Marinated white asparagus, crispy egg, mushrooms and herbs
The next dish demonstrated was the Sous Vide Danish halibut with potato gnocchi, spinach, sakura ebi and black truffle shavings. The halibut fillet is cooked sous vide at 55C for 15 minutes with olive oil, garlic and lemon thyme. For the potato gnocchi, Chef Galvin recommends using Yukon Gold potatoes for best texture. It is lightly sauteed with butter and finely chopped shallots and deglazed with truffle jus. For the benefit of my readers, I have taken videos of how to "roll" the gnocchi on the grooved board (use the palm of your hands) and also the immaculat! e platin g of the dish by sous chef Joon.
Sakura ebi from Japan which are in season in spring and autumn.
Australian black truffle
The potato is baked and sieved through
Add creme fraiche, nutmeg, egg yolk, flour, salt and pepper to taste.
Roll it
How to roll gnocchi into desired shape
The Sakura ebi is sauteed on low heat til crispy and finished with a! dash of truffle oil.
Chef Galvin sauteing the gnocchi
Black truffles anyone?
Plating of the sous vide halibut
Slow cooked Danish halibut "sous vide" with potato gnocchi, spinach, Sakura ebi and black truffle
Last but not least, sous chef Alan showed us how to make Les Amis' fancy lemon tarte with thyme ice cream. He made the lemon curd using a Thermomix, however at home, one can just make it using the stove and then bake it in a 180C oven for 15 minutes.
Chef Alan showing us how to make the crumble.. bake it in a 160C oven for 30 minutes, removing every 10 minutes to "crumble" the mixture. The dessert is garnished with lemon balm to complete this lemony dessert.
Chef Alan giving the meringue the blowtorch treatment
Fancy Lemon Tarte with thyme ice cream
Chef Galvin Lim, Baby Sumo, Chef Joon and Chef Alan
After the cooking class, we proceeded to Mandarin Grill for a 5-course dinner prepared by the Les Amis team, including 3 of the dishes that were taught in the cooking class.
Freshly baked bread with tomato butter and unsalted butter
Laurent Perrier Champagne
We started our meal with the marinated bamboo razor clam with tomatoes. The clams have been marinated in white wine and olive oil only, hence we could enjoy the natural sweetness and freshness of the seafood. It is nicely presented on a bed of salt coloured by squid ink.
William Fevre Chablis 2010
I was looking forward to taste the dishes that we learnt from the cooking class and they certainly did not disappoint. I loved the marinated white asparagus dish, eating it brings good memories of trips I had in Germany and Austria. The egg was both crispy on the exterior and gooey in the centre. Very very delicious. By the way, I learnt that this dish is always served with the spear facing the diner as this is the best part of the asparagus.
Marinated white asparagus, crispy egg, morel mushrooms and herbs
Perrin Cotes Du Rhone 2009
The halibut was beautifully cooked - moist and flaky. The Sakura ebi added texture to the dish. And oh, the truffles - heavenly!
Slow cooked Danish halibut "sous vide" with potato gnocchi, spinach, Sakura ebi and black truffle
! 
Breakfast is served in the form of a "sunny side up" - very interesting and visually appealing. The "yolk" is actually a pineapple (molecular) sphere. The "egg white" is a milk ice cream with chilli. A lot of praises sung at our table for this dish.
"Sunny side up"
Dessert wine
A fancy lemon tarte with thyme ice cream ensured that our meal ended on a sweet note. It is a deconstructed version of a lemon meringue pie. The cocoa crumble was nice and gave this dessert some texture. I love the tartness of this dessert.
Tea with petit fours (gula melaka chocolate and royal dark chocolate) fromCanel Ptisserie Chocolaterie which is owned by the Les Amis Group. Whenever I visit Singapore, I always have to have their macarons. And they do a very delectable strawberry shortcake too.
As always, it's lovely getting to learn from professional chefs and the Les Amis team did an excellent job in conducting the cooking class as well as putting together a delicious meal for us all. I hope to be able to visit Les Amis Restaurant during my next trip to Singapore (Hubby, *hint hint* LOL).
Thanks very much to Mandarin Oriental KL for the opportunity to attend this cooking class.
Price: RM255++ per person (cooking class and 5-course wine pairing dinner).
Location: Mandarin Grill, Mandarin Oriental Kuala Lumpur, Kuala Lumpur City Centre, 50088 Kuala Lumpur.
Tel: 03-2380 8888
GPS Coordinates: 3.155514, 101.711555
Website:http://www.mandarinoriental.com/kualalumpur andhttp://www.lesamis.com.sg/index1.html
*All recipes will be shared in due course.
*All recipes will be shared in due course.
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