The Elk @ Solaris

Solaris Mont Kiara is a scary location to launch a cafe, since so many eateries have opened and closed here (remember Providore and Ultimo?). When The Elk recently emerged, we wondered whether it would have the extra edge to survive.

Some folks will wonder why "A passion for food meets a passionate love" is written on the wall, while many might be mystified over this outlet's name. The Elk is run by a food-loving couple, whose names _ Ee Leng and Khaw _ combine to form the initials E.L.K.

Always fun to order Welsh rarebit (RM12, no taxes or service charge); this sliced toast with creamy, beer-infused melted cheese is wonderful for whetting the appetite.

Squid stuffed with minced pork, onion and garlic (RM12). The Elk's food has a homemade feel; it's unlikely to knock most custome! rs' sock s off, but you can sense the care poured into these recipes and the sincerity in the cooking.

Roast chicken (RM20). Family recipe marinated in both Western and Eastern herbs and spices.

Own-made, handmade squid ink fettuccine with prawns, squid and mussels (RM25) in a very light white wine and olive oil dressing that might lack flavor for some.

Our top pick: The Elk's "Extreme Porky Burger," featuring 200 grams of minced pork with ham and bacon (RM28). The Elk is happy to oblige reasonable requests; we asked for an egg to top this, and we recommend everyone else do the same.

The Elk serves no wine but has the right glasses; corkage is an excellent RM10 only, so walk over to Cold Storage to buy a bottle before heading here.

Vacation photographs! It's time for a holiday. Well, nearly.

The Elk,
15, Jalan Solaris 4, Solaris Mont Kiara, Kuala Lumpur.
Open Mon-Sat, 10am-10pm.

Dark Chocolate, Pistachio & Smoked Sea Salt Cookies

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I was going to start this post by saying please please dont hug my back fat. Theres this area on my back that you have no business squeezing, sir. That side hug and subsequent finger clench was awkward for both of us but that seemed like an pretty tense way to kick things off around here.

I was going to talk about how Im listening to entirely too much hip hop lately because all I can think about is champagne,VIP, and all the ladies that love me. If feels like talking about hip hop is like talking about Fight Club. Not ok. Plus just saying the words hip hop make me feel like a grandma wearing her baseball cap backwards.

Ok Next! What should we discuss?

YOLO? Is it too late to talk about that? if you have to ask. yes.

Should I write about how sometimes I think my blog would be more popular if I were engaged or pregnant? Should I write about how that thought makes me want to run full throttle into a wall? Probably not. Thats a little hot-button for these parts.

Should I write about how Pinterest sometimes stresses me Oh nevermind!

Lets just cookie.

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We really should make Chocolate Chip Cookies more often. Its exactly 87 times more awesome than annoying. Lets think of Chocolate Chip Cookies as edible air fresheners.

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Creamed butter, sugar, egg, and vanilla. A luscious and very familiar scene.

Flour, salt, and baking soda are next. Its simple, really.

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Dark chocolate chunks are mandatory.

Salted pistachios are a luxury.

Some of the nuts are finely diced (almost into a powder), other pistachio chunks will be a bit more coarse. The nuts are actually important. They help support the structure of the cookie.

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Toss all of the ingredients together and will yourself not to sit down on the couch with a spoon and raw cookie dough.

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Unbaked cookies are generously sprinkled with Smoked Sea Salt.

I love pairing salt with sweets. It really cuts through the sugar and makes amplifies the flavors of chocolate and brown sugar. The smoked nature of the salt is just an added summer cookout bonus.

Also. Total side note. Im completely obsessed with this Burning Leaves Perfume from I Hate Perfume. OBSESSED but I havent made the splurge yet. No one buy it before I do. K. Thanks. Im (mostly) kidding.

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These cookies bake low and slow, at 300 degrees F for almost 20 minutes. Its a slow road to golden.

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These cookies are everything they should be: studded with dark chocolate, flavored with pistachios, and salty like whaaat? The smoked salt adds an extra layer of fancy. It feels like campfire meets fine-dining meets ooh my gosh I ate all the cookies.

This recipe is adapted from Smitten Kitchen whom I love and respect and whose Zucchini Rice Gratin I want to make immediately.

Dark Chocolate, Pistachio & Hickory Sea Salt Cookies

adapted from Smitten Kitchen

makes about 24 cookies

Print this Recipe!

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups dark chocolate chips

1 cup shelled pistachios, coarsely chopped

smoked salt for topping

Place rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat butter and sugars together until pale and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add the egg and beat in for about 1 minute. Add! vanilla extract and beat to incorporate.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt. Add the mixture all at once to the butter mixture. Beat on low speed until just incorporated. Finally mix in the chocolate chips and nuts.

Dollop or scoop cookie dough by the 2 tablespoonful onto prepared baking tins. Leave about 2 inches of room between each cookie. Sprinkle generously with smoked sea salt.

Bake cookies for 18 minutes, or until just golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the pan for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely. Cookies will last, well wrapped at room temperature for up to 4 days as if theyll last that long.


Lunch2U.my

Friend of ours, who used to work with Fried Chillies, has ventured out create and supply healthy lunches delivered to your doorstep, ...or into the office if you let them in. Now, usually the words HEALTHY FOOD send alarm bells off in my head, much like sex would to a Catholic priest, but since Alex is such a sweetie, I thought I'd give her the benefit of the doubt, AND furthermore, to simulate how it would normally be done, she had the food delivered to my office.

I love the way the food is labelled with the amount of calories, and surprisingly, some of the dishes were actually lower calorie than what I'd expect. Anyway, the proof of the pudding is in the eating, and quite honestly, the dishes were delicious. Really. Not just saying it.


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Thai Journey, basically red rice salad with baked chicken breast. Now, okay, I hate chicken breast, and still do. I'd much rather pay for the calories and eat chicken thigh. But the delicious rice salad more than compensated.

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Love me Tandoor. Now this was the surprise. This is only 331 calories. Or maybe 332. Delicious, almost creamy, so really, I am shocked that the calorie (hmmm, is singular for calories calory or calorie?) count is lower than a bowl of cereal.

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Pasta Pasta, a tasty medley of Tri-colour pasta served with tuna, red and yellow capsicum, oyster mushrooms, and red onion, tossed with a mustardy lemon vinaigrette. (Description from website). I loved this tangy combo, which was bursting with flavours.

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This is the typical packaging, a description, calorie count, in a microwavable container.

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Moroccan Dream, cous cous and chickpea salad. Totally filling, and totally yummy, and totally healthy. You can feel the health.

Anyway, prices are very reasonable, averaging around RM13. Check out the LUNCH2U.MY website, and when you're in the mood for healthy, ...you know where to go. For now, ordering is purely online.

LUNCH2U DELIVERY SDN BHD
12-2, 31/70A, Desa Sri Hartamas,
50480 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Email: info@lunch2u.my



Ramadan @ Bora Ombak, Ampang

With a few days remaining in Ramadan, there's still time for a buka-puasa buffet: Bora Ombak's is a satisfactory way to sample time-honored Malaysian fare in a setting that might seem a little less sterile than hotel restaurants.

Lots of fresh air in a wide space, with enough of a customer presence on weekdays to keep things lively without turning crowded and chaotic.

Also pleasing: the price of RM55+, reasonable for this range. No sashimi, oysters or pasta, but hey, none of that hits the heart of "buka puasa," right?

Lapping up the ulam, tempeh, pecal, petai, cincalok, salads and snacks ...

... then piling on eve! rything from daging gulai kawah and ikan keli berlado to ayam kacang gajus, petola tumis and nasi kerabu.

Gravy-drenched greatness, with meat, vegetables and rice galore. We had seconds, for sure.

Action stalls are where much of the action is at.

Roast lamb, as tender and flavorsome as we hoped it would be. And no need to rush: there's still leftover meat at the end of the night on this carcass.

Rejoice in the name of cockles! Have them straight from the shell or strewn into char kuey teow.

Skip the roti john and murtabak though. Unessential tummy fillers.

The creamy laksa Kelantan gets a pass; the bland bakso, not so much.

Ais kacang, lacking in gula melaka goodness. But keep a date with sumptuously sweet dates.

Outdoor seating is what most guests get, except for bigger groups. Service is serviceable.

And this'll be our only Ramadan buffet this year. Our stomachs are too stuffed to consider more.

Bora Ombak,
Persiaran Mamanda 1, Near Ampang Point, Kuala Lumpur.
Tel: 03-4251-6303

I cooked: Lodeh Siam with Prawns

One of the dishes that really captivated me at Chef Ismail's cooking demo was the lodeh siam. Don't get me wrong, I loved the ayam rendang Rembau and ayam masak merah but they're not everyday dishes that I could prepare since the cooking time is quite long.

Sayur Lodeh is a vegetable dish originating from Indonesia. Chef Ismail gave it a Thai twist, using tom yum cubes and spices. It is best to blend your own fresh ingredients to make the paste for the sauce, but if you are really stuck for time, you can also substitute with 2-3 tbsp of instant tom yum paste. The rich, creamy sauce with the spiciness from the tom yum really hit the spot for me.

For this dish, usually cabbage and long beans are used, along with optional ingredients such as tempeh, deep fried tofu, or beancurd skin (fu chuk). I made this at home using fu chuk (since my mum loves them) as well as some king prawns since I got some fresh ones from the market that morning. Technically speaking, this is a vegetarian dish but since I'm serving it at home, I get to put in what I like :D

If you love tom yum, you will most definitely like this. We all enjoyed it very much, even Baby C had a few sips of the sauce. I would happily eat this dish alone with a bowl of white rice (drenched in the tom yum sauce!). Btw, my lodeh siam sauce wasn't as thick as Chef Ismail's (but still yummy!), I think it's due to the coconut milk used.. next time I'll have to use fresh coconut milk.




Lodeh Siam
Recipe adapted from Chef Ismail (with several additions)
Preparation time: 15-20 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes
Serves 6


100g QBB Ghee (I substituted with 3 tbsp of cooking oil)
800ml - 1l water
200ml coconut milk
1 tsp anchovies powder (optional)
Salt, to taste
Sugar, to taste
1 tbsp lime juice
1/2 cabbage, coarsely sliced, blanched
350g long bean, cut into 2 inch long, blanched
100g beancurd skin (fu chuk) (optional)
10-12 prawns, shelled and deveined with head intact (optional)

Blended ingredients
15 Red cili padi
5 cloves shallot
4 cloves garlic
1 sprig Thai basil
2 sprig coriander
2 stalks lemongrass, sliced
3cm turmeric, sliced
3cm lengkuas, sliced
3cm old ginger, sliced
2 tsp dried chilli paste (cili giling)
50ml water

1. Blend the ingredients to a paste. Heat the oil/ghee in a large wok, and add the blended ingredients and saute until fragrant.

2. Add water, and bring to the boil. Add in coconut milk and stir continuously until thicken.

3. Add in tom yum cube, anchovies powder, and season with salt and sugar.

4. Stir and boil for 15 minutes, then add in the lime juice.

5. Add in blanched vegetables and beancurd and stir well. Finally, add in the prawns and cook for 1 minute or until the prawns change to a orange hue. Serve immediately.


*Recipe courtesy of Chef Ismail of Restoran Rebung with slight amendments. You can read more about the cooking demo by Chef Dato' Ismailthat I attended here.

Sushi chef finds success in Australian country town

SYDNEY, Aug 14 When Masaaki Koyama opened his sushi shop in Geeveston, a small town in southern Tasmania that survives mainly on lumber and apple growing, he had to step outside to offer samples to locals to encourage them to try his hand-made sushi rolls.

Now, three years later, his name is so well known on Australias most southern island state that customers form snake-like, endless queues to buy his tasty delights.

Part of the success is the attraction of watching Koyama make some of the hundreds of rolls of sushi he prepares every day. He offers up to nine varieties of sushi, and miso soup laced with homegrown vegetables and Inari (bean curd), stuffed with chopped beetroot, carrot and mushrooms, stir fried in sesame oil and mixed with sesame seeds and sushi rice.

Koyama spoke with Reuters about his business and how he made it a success.

Q: Was it risky setting up business so far from Hobarts tourist trail, where locals may not be familiar with sushi?

A. Yes, I was very nervous. It took me about six months to have the courage to go ahead and do it. After living in Tasmania for about a year I took a stall at Taste of the Huon annual food festival and it went very well so I thought, ahh maybe it will be ok!

Q: Who are your customers?

A: In the first three years mainly locals and forestry workers, but now quite a lot of people travel down from Hobart (60 kilometres or 37 miles away) and tourists pop in when theyre passing through.

Q: Your shop is in Geeveston, a small town. Were people there familiar with sushi?

A: No, a lot of people had never tried it before. I just kept saying, please try. People were watching from outside, so I had to go out and ask them, would you like to try a piece of sushi. Some people said, oh I dont like it. So it was interesting and fun for me.

Q: I hear some of your customers are big burly Tasmanian forestry workers. Does that seem strange to maybe think, chain saw in one hand, sushi in the other?

A: Y! es at fi rst, but now its pretty normal.

Q: Where do you source your ingredients from?

A: My ingredients are sourced mostly from local vegetable and fish shops and my veggie garden. I have lots of garlic at the moment and beetroot, spring onions, radish and some Japanese vegetables also. I like using veggies from the garden in my ingredients, but its very hard to look after a veggie garden and the shop. I begin work at 5 am and finish at about 7 pm three days a week.

Q: Youve become a familiar name at the Farmers Market in Hobart on Sundays. How do you draw the crowds?

A: Lots of kids love my sushi. Their most popular choice is my vegetable sushi rolls. Fresh salmon, yellow fin tuna, stripey trumpeter, prawn and avocado are also very popular amongst adults.

I have long queues waiting for my sushi on Sundays. Its not a straight line though, they queue in an angle to watch me hand roll the sushi. Its lovely when the sun is shining.

Q: Do you source your seafood in Tasmania?

A: Yes, with the exception of prawns, the rest comes from Tasmania. When I cant source yellow fin tuna in Tasmania I buy it across the water in Victoria.

Q: Youve clearly become a success. Youve come from being nervous about opening your sushi business to enjoying entertaining long queues of customers waiting for your sushi rolls. Whats your winning formula?

A: Its very simple, I use only fresh ingredients and I love talking to the customers.

Q: Do you have plans to grow your business and open around Tasmania.

A: Im very happy in my small shop in Geeveston making good quality sushi rolls.

Masaaki Koyamas Miso Soup

The secret to a good miso soup is the dashi base. Dashi can be made from kombu (kelp), dried bonito flakes, dried shiitake mushrooms. These are boiled up to produce a delicious stock.

Contemporary Japanese households will often just used dried bonito flakes or bonito fish stock powder. Masaaki uses a combination of any of the above bases for his miso so! up.

< p>Fill a pot with dashi stock and place over heat.

Add ingredients such as sliced local vegetables: onions, potatoes, carrots. Turn the heat up to high, and when it boils turn down the heat to medium.

Remove any scum on the surface of the soup as the vegetables cook. When all the vegetables are cooked through, turn the heat down low.

Soften an appropriate amount of miso this depends on the volume of the stock and your preferences for strong or lighter flavour in a ladle or strainer, using liquid from the stock, and gradually dissolve it into the stock, adjusting the taste.

Its important to never boil the stock once you have dissolved the miso paste, as this will spoil the flavour.

After turning off the heat, add some wakame seaweed, which can be bought fresh or dried (soften in water as per package instructions). Masaaki likes to add a sprinkling of freshly chopped Tasmanian spring onions. Reuters


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