Recipe: Winter Melon Dessert ()

"Hey tom felton will be in town on d 9-10th"

The above was a text from a close friend. I had to reread the message twice, googled it thrice, to double confirm that the actor who played Draco Malfoy in the Harry Potter films is coming to Melbourne, and to be exact, at the Melbourne Showgrounds! You have no idea how near is me place from Melbourne Showgrounds is!! I WAS SQUEALING IN DELIGHT because the fangirl in me is.

However, it requires one to pay to get an autograph and picture, which according to my friend, and according to me, really dodgy. Sucks when you have to pay your way to get an autograph. When I was in Hong Kong, I met superstars on the streets. Why the hell should I pay to get an autograph? Doesn't make any hell sense to me.

Also, I'm broke (not broke but using money hurts my dad's wallet) from my salicylic peel and blue light therapy at a skin clinic and my latest purchase of hyaluronic acid and glycolic acid skin products for my mom. So, I decided to say no to seeing Tom Felton in person.

Sorry Tom Felton, my skin is more important to me. I think a lot of people know about this.

Speaking of good skin, I shall introduce you this amazing Chinese dessert that nourishes from inside out. :) According to my skin nurse, what you eat really SHOWS on your skin. So, if you've got crappy, bumpy skin like mine, you know your diet's screwed.

For those of you who do not know what a winter melon looks like:

From here, you will have an idea on how I cut my winter melon!

You can get this from Victo! ria Mark et! I used to not be able to find it but for god knows what reason, one can easily obtain winter melon these days. :) You just need to go to the area next to the organic section of the market. The stall is located two stalls (to the left) away from the stall selling nuts and dried fruit.

My mom used to make this for me every morning before I go to school. Especially when I was 17. That year, I was really stressed and very unhealthy. Canteen food was horrible so I rarely eat lunch. Lunch was mostly a pear or an apple. The worried her decided that I should not have just a bowl of muesli and milk for breakfast. So, she usually prepare some Chinese soup or dessert to nourish my pallor self. Usually, it is winter melon dessert because I love the light sweetness offered by the winter melon. Apart from making desserts, one can use winter melon for preparing soup, stock or stir fry.

Desserts from the heart


Recipe:Winter Melon Dessert () - serves 10

Ingredients:

-2 winter melons (About 2 kilos), skin peeled, core removed and cut into 2 cm (length) by 1 cm (thickness) strips
-2 honey dates
-A handful of premium dried longans
-A handful of dried lotus seeds
-2 dry white fungus, soaked in warm water for 30 minutes and rinsed twice. Cut into tiny pieces
-1 to 1 and a half block of cane sugar ()
-Half cup of barley, rinsed
-10 cups of filtered water

Instructions:

1. In a large pot (I used a 8 L pot), add water, sugar, longans, honey dates, and barley. Bring to boil and then simmer at low heat for 30 minutes.
2. Then, add in winter melon and lotus seeds. Bring to boil. And set to simmer for 1 hour. Test for sweetness. If it is not sweet enough,! add som e rock sugar. Do remember that the winter melon has its own natural sweetness. Adding too much of sugar will kill its unique taste.
3. After an hour, add in white fungus. Simmer for 10 more minutes.
4. Serve hot or cold. Dessert can be kept refrigerated for up to three days.



If you are curious about where I did my peeling, you can always drop me an email. :) Also, if you are wondering if I died from my peel, no I did not. In fact, my skin became super fair and the blemishes are miraculously zapped off from my skin. That was just one 8 percent peel.

I am not alien to skin peels. In fact, I did them when I was 15, when puberty throughly hit me in full force. I did not have the nicest skin that time. I had tonnes of open comedones and all that gunk. I had about 10 peels and then, my skin became very smooth and nice for the next four years. :)

I stopped going for peels for two years. Now, I'm going back to doing them because I feel that this might be a solution apart from having balanced diet, keeping emotions in check and having exactly 8 hours of sleep every single night.

Beef & Mushroom (& Red Wine) Pie

Beef & Mushroom red wine pie with potato pastry.

Have always loved meat pies, probably because when I was growing up, there was only one western restaurant in town and their pies were to us what pizzas are to kids now.

I balk at making pies because there's so much work, especially since I don't like store-bought pastry. I've told you before about the pastry course I took years ago that made me suspect all pastries. Commercial pastry is made with pastry margarine, a white and waxy fat that doesn't melt easily and so make the crustiest and shortest pastry because it melts only under high heat, separating the layers of dough, unlike butter which melts when kneaded, resulting in tough dough (my English teacher would give that sentence an 'F'). Just think what that hard margarine does in your blood vessels. Plus, if you've made pastry before, you'll know how much fat goes into it to make it short and flaky.

I've never made potato pastry and was surprised at how deliciously short and light it tasted, partly due to the self-raising flour. The potatoes also gave the pastry extra flavor. However, the pastry was soft and crumbly and I couldn't turn the pies out so potato pastry should be used for making pot pies only. If the potato pastry is rolled too thick, the texture can taste rather cake-like so make it about 1/2 cm thin. Since this is not short crust pastry, the texture is soft and crumbly but not very crusty.

As for the meat filling, I halved the wine and I think it was still too much because the wine flavor was over-powering and the meat filling tasted very tart. I had to add quite a bit of sugar. I wanted to use ground beef because I knew my mom and in laws would prefer that to beef chunks. Ground beef also cooks muc! h faster . But the ground beef exuded too much oil when fried so I ran to the supermarket to get some beef blade to add to the ground beef. Despite cutting the beef into small 1 cm cubes and cooking until it was very tender, Wey said he found the chunks too stringy for his teeth and preferred ground beef so next time, I will get beef blade and mince the beef myself.

The recipe below is a combination of the beef and red wine pie and beef and mushroom pie recipes in Exclusively Australia, a wonderful website.

Beef & Mushroom Pie(makes 6 large or 8 medium individual pies)
1 kg beef chuck or blade or mince
2 T veg oil
2 cloves garlic
1 T plain flour
1 1/2 T tomato paste
1 T Worchestershire sauce
1/2 t dried thyme (or 1 t fresh, minced)
125 ml (1/2 cup) red wine (2 cups for red wine pies)
500 ml (2 cups) beef stock
1 cup water
1 T sugar (optional)
2 bay leaves
500 gm white cap mushrooms (I added shiitake mushrooms; cheaper)
salt (about 1 t or more) & freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 T cornflour + 1 T water

egg wash: 1 egg, half the white removed & beaten well

1. In a heavy saucepan, add a small amount of oil and brown the beef in very small batches. If you fry too much at once, the beef will sweat and will not brown. I used a heavy nonstick pan (Circulon, love it) and didn't add oil to the mince and used very little oil for the chunks. Set aside. Spoon off the excess oil.

2. Add 1 T oil to the same pan, add the onion and fry until softened. Add the garlic and flour (I didn't add the flour now because I intended to use a pressure cooker) and the beef and remaining ingredients except the mushrooms. Cover and let simmer 1 1/2 hours to 2 hours (30 minutes in presssure cooker) until beef is tender. If there is too much liquid, remove cover to reduce it. However, I found that upon cooking and standing, the liquid will dry up. Pies are best when wet with! sauce s o do make sure the stew is really slushy. You may have to add more water if not cooking in a pressure cooker. Season.

If using mince, add the mushrooms at the same time as the beef and simmer about 30 minutes.

3. Add the mushrooms and cook another 30 minutes. Taste and season if necessary. If using pressure cooker, stir in the flour and cook 5 minutes. Thicken the stew with the cornflour water. When cool, chill the filling overnight for easier handling and for the flavor to develop.

4. Remove the bay leaves and divide mixture into individual ramekins (to the brim), or you can line the ramekins or greased baking pans with short crust pastry (not potato pastry; too soft) with the pastry overhanging the rims by about 1 cm.

5. Roll pastry tops out between sheets of pastry paper. I found the potato pastry very soft, almost like mashed potatoes, and preferred roll and then press it thin in my hands like making pizza bases. Cover the pie tops with the pastry, trim and mark rim with a fork (go here for great step by step photos).

6. Brush pastry with beaten egg and snip a cross on top to let steam out. Bake at 200 C for 25 to 30 minutes until pastry is golden.

Potato Pastry
200 gm self-raising flour
200 gm mashed potato, cooled
150 gm salted butter

--Sift flour into a large bowl, rub in the butter, add the mash and mix lightly until just blended. Chill 1/2 hour before using.
--This amount is enough for pot pies only. For enclosed pie (pie with a base and top), you need short crust pastry for the base.

Korean House (Bandung)

Though a bit empty compared to its main competitor, Han Kook Gwan, Korean House is an address worth checking for anyone who loves authentic Japanese/Korean food. The design of the place is simple, with only a few posters on the walls and some furniture, but I found it very charming.

The waitress was very nice, especially to explain how the dishes were made. The menu had photos, which proved very helpful to help us make a decision on what to order.

The portions were huge, especially after we ate the free appetizers brought with the main course. Our food was delicious, and overall, rather good value. We paid Rp 257,000 for everything, but we could have been 3 people eating the same dish easily.

Overall, Korean House serves healthy food, has an excellent service and charges correct prices. For those reasons, I consider it one of the best restaurants I tried so far in Bandung. Very recommended.

Korean House Restaurant
Korean and Japanese Food
Jalan Sukajadi No 175 Bandung
Phone number: +62-22 203 1626 and +62-22 203 5306

Wagyu Beef Burgers, Tony Romas FT

I recently had the chance to give Wagyu Beef Burgers a try at a recent food review invite by Tony Romas at e@curve.

Now, I have enjoyed a Wagyu steak before in the past and because Im an even bigger fan of beef burgers (I must be an American at heart) I couldnt resist the invite.

After a quick briefing by the friendly team at Tony Romas, they informed us that wed be sampling a range of their burgers, from the spicy Fiery Cajun Burger to the overfolowingly high piled Big Stack Burger (shown above).

To keep us from getting too hungry while the burgers arrived we were served a serving of the deep fried mushrooms together with our choice of milkshakes.

I opted for the Chocolate milkshake and it came out thick and almost creamy in texture due to the finely blended ice and ice cream inside it.

Some of the other food bloggers like TauFuLou and Andrew joked we should try and sneak the fried mushroom into the cinema instead of popcorn and snack away on it, although I would have preferred the onion loaf myself

Since not everything at the meal could be meat and potato! s, we al so had a plate of salad to keep us all somewhat healthy (ish), the Grilled Chicken and Roasted Vegetable Salad, contained a savory mix of grilled chicken, zucchini, carrots, red peppers and chives blended with chopped greens, served with tomato pesto vinaigrette dressing and toasted cheddar flatbread.

Shortly after all the burgers came out at once and before you ask, we had them cut into pieces to share we did not have 5 burgers each, that would be burger overload.

The first one I tried was the Steakhouse Burger which we disassembled to show the rosemary covered bacon strips. This was my favourite, in part due to the rosemary flavour that went will with the bacon and burger, but also because of the demi-glace sauce served on the side, which gave it a very BBQ/ ranch style flavour.

In quick succession came the Big Stack Burger, Fiery Cajun Burger and the Shrimp Scampi Pasta.

The pasta is available off the menu but the two burgers are only available during this promotional period. All the burgers mentioned above are 100% Wagyu beef and will commence from 11th April till 5th June 2011.

For those who are a little bit more adventurous, you can give the burger eating competition a try. The top price is RM2,000 so if you can eat huge amounts of beef burger then give it a try:

participate in the Tony Romas Burger Eating Competition to stand a chance to win RM2,000 cash prize! To participate, patrons are required to purchase at least one Tony Romas Wagyu beef burger and attach the receipt to the applic! ation fo rm as a proof. Recruitment starts from 4th April 2011 onwards at all Tony Romas outlets located in Klang Valley. There will be four qualifying rounds scheduled to 23rd April, 30th April, 7th May and 14th May 2011 to be held at Tony Romas, Jalan Yap Kwan Seng, with each round limited to only 20 participants on a first-come-first serve basis. The top 5 winners from each qualifying round will then proceed to the final round, which is to be held at Tony Romas, 1 Mont Kiara Shopping Mall on 20th May 2011 to compete for the Grand Prize.

Tony Romas, e@curve

Tel: 03 7728 7833

Check out the full poster below:

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Mikan

Maju Junction might be an unlikely location for an impressive Japanese restaurant, but that's what Mikan turned out to be.

A mouthwatering sushi platter of salmon belly, hamachi & ikura. Thanks to the generous slices of indisputably fresh fish and luscious roe, this was every bit as satisfying as sushi at any upmarket outlet in KL.

Tuna sashimi tempura roll with miso sauce. Creamy, melt-in-the-mouth succulence.

Foie gras with king mushrooms in teriyaki sauce. A top-notch treat; three thick, well-prepared slices of goose liver that partnered perfectly with earthy mushrooms and a pleasantly sweet sauce. A bargain for RM38+.

Angus beef tataki with citrus black pepper sauce. Bloody good; tender and meaty.

A tip of the hat is owed to the friendly, accommodating service team. We'll be back.

Mikan,

Maju Junction Mall, Jalan Sultan Ismail, Kuala Lumpur.

Gelare Cafe, e@Curve Half-Priced Waffles on Tuesdays!

Epitome of Sins Peaches, Strawberries, Whipped Cream, Strawberry Ice-Cream and Chocolate Sauce. Oh, did I mention that there was a waffle underneath?

If you had shunned Cineleisure, or now known awkwardly as e@Curve (kinda missing the point, since I was about to name this as Gelare @e@ Curve, but that looks like something else .) for food or some retail therapy, I dont blame you.

Thankful for the existence of Cathay Cineplex at the top floor of the shopping centre, which by far is still one of the better ones in Klang Valley (IMHO, of course), but the rest of the retail outlets just scream .. boredom. Or lacklustre.

I mean, yeah there is this McDonalds, a Senjyu Sushi outlet that was sadly not as attention-grabbing as it should be, and that Funky Villa place that I have no intention to visit in the near future. Authentic Thai cuisine in a modernized setting, the place serves rather irresistible/value for money lunch sets, yet the ambience was anything but subtle.

Since its TUESDAY in a few hours, let me share this sweet deal at Gelare Cafe. Been wanting to share this place since weeks ago, but somehow weekdays and Mutiara Damansara after office hours just dont go so well together huh? Read on to know more about this 50% off all their waffles deal

Will probably take some time before you can make your decision, with several combination of waffles on the board. Regular, Tutti Frutti or Chocolate Chip, and with a choice of maple syrup or chocolate sauce. Then the whipped cream or none. And lastly, 1,2, or 3 scoops of ice cream. From an array of 10 or so flavours. Phew .. Lifes all about decisions eh?

And so you get 50% off ALL of the waffles on Tuesdays. Simple as that. Though you still pay for the ice-cream, but youre already saving a chunk. Not sure until when this offer is going to last, but certainly worth a try if youre a fan of waffles and sweet stuff, or craving for decadence on a severe overnight Monday blues hangover.

I know I soon will be, given the fact that I am FORCED to travel all the way back to Ipoh for one very very brief period of time.

I still prefer my waffles to be served with nothing but maple syrup (honey also ok lah .) and butter. Like how A&W used to make theirs back then.

You can mix and match the various medley of sweets, but go easy on the chocolate sauce if youre not fond of cloyingly sweet food. The ice-cream was good; being smooth and easy on the palate, but slightly overwhelmed by the sheer indulgence of having too much on one plate.

And thus, we paid about RM12/USD4 or so for each waffle, sliced into quarters and served warm upon arrival. But bear in mind that service CAN get a tad slow, even though there were at least 3 people manning the counter, and there were only two tables (us inclusive) waiting for our waffles.

They do serve some savoury bites, though nothing of paramount importance, especially when this is a cafe that prides on their desserts; waffles and pancakes. Wouldnt go all out to proclaim this being the BEST cafe that serves waffles, since I truly believe it isnt, but until I find that certain place that serves MY type of buttery, soft and warm waffles with a golden and fragrant maple syrup balanced with a block of salted butter, then Gelare it is for me.

On Tuesdays, at least.

Gelare Cafe @ e@Curve, Level G-30 & 31, Mutiara Damansara, Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia.

*Tuesday 50% Specials are valid on . Tuesdays only. (Duh). Only for the waffles, hence you still pay FULL price for the 1,2 or 3 scoops of ice-cream you choose from the selection.

Ninja Joe Burgers @ The Gardens

It's all about fast food that crossed our mind whenever we're in a hurry or decided to skip the feast with a valid excuse to feed our wedding piggy bank lately...
Burgers satiate us fast but thinking of having McD would sometimes bore my appetite.
Fret not as Ninja Joe would save us.


It's not easy to find a fast food outlet that sells pork burgers. Ooo yeah!





Some said it's mini, but we find it filling for us.
A ninja is not enough? The more you buy, the cheaper it gets.


Solo ninja - RM 5.90
2 ninjas - RM 9.90
3 ninjas - RM 12.90
6 ninjas - RM 23.90


FYI, you can choose between 6 different flavours for your pork patty: Original, Oriental, Teriyaki, Black Pepper, Sweet&Sour and Spicy.


We settled for Teriyaki Ninja (I can't resist teriyaki and have always failed not having it)
The pork patty may look thin, but it was infused well with the teriyaki sauce & was juicy. Not dry and hard at all. It was also served with a slice of tomato and lettuce. Taste wise? Very teriyaki = sweetness at the right level.








We also had the Sweet & Sour Ninja
Nothing to shout about, I almost mix this up with teriyaki as it lack the kick of sourness.




With an additional price of RM3.90, you could add fries and a selected drink of your choice.






Tanto (RM 4.90) - fried tofu with pork fillings. I thought this was rather dry though...







Chris still prefer his "Big Boss" burger with additional egg and bacon instead of just pork patty alone. Try that!
We would now date this little ninja when we thought of having fast food instead.
itadakimasu !




Ninja Joe
The Gardens
Lot LG-233, Lower Ground Floor

La tartelette

Tartelette

I am so inspired by my visits to the farm, I told my father on the phone.

Without seeing his face, I could feel he was finding my words amusing.

My father grew up on a farm with tractors, cows and horses. And I grew up following my grandmother in the large garden she kept at the back of the house, to see the chicken and rabbits, and fetch salad, saucissons and pts whenever we stayed over for dinner. The best Ive ever eaten to this day.

Comment cela ? (How so?) he asked. Tu nas qu venir nous voir! (Come and visit us!)

Bientt, (soon) I responded. Id just uttered the words that already I felt impatient to as images of France in the spring, cherry trees and poppyseed fields crossed my mind.

Bientt, I said once more. Mais pas maintenant. (Not now).

Poppy seed field in my home village in France

We have a lot to look forward to here at the moment, I added.

I really meant it.

I was thinking about all of these things: The transition to Spring (so happy to see all of the snow melted!) that I dont want to miss; settle more in our house (a.k.a. empty boxes and tidy the mess that is still around); plant a garden; and introduce Lulu, step by step, to glimpses of the beautiful farm life that surrounds us. I know she can appreciate it already. If she finds moutons and poules irresistible, she is getting it. I would so much have loved that her great grandfather could watch her pet the goat and inquire about cows! and chi cken. He, too, would have found that amusing.

And then there is my book. And the final piece of work I have to do with it.

So you know, I am currently revising the proofs. And oh let me tell you how good that feels!

So much so.

As I flip through the pages and recall the many hours Ive worked behind the stove, in front of my laptop or behind the camera, I am simply moved.

So, to help, I visited farms. And do you know what? It really helped.

I had forgotten how adorable baby goats look when they play. I had forgotten how amazing witnessing the birth of a few baby lamb is.

Its incredible, I told Mia who kindly walked me through the farm when I came.

Lulu begs that we come every day, I went on, laughing. It feels like we belong here too.

I loved that idea, in fact. And knew wed come again and again.

The day of my visit, I cooked a tart. A savory tart.

I had leftovers of crust used for a savory tart recipe Id written for food author Ashley English, who had kindly invited me to collaborate to her upcoming ne! w cookbo ok.

Do you mind if it is gluten free? I asked her when she emailed me.

I love it!

Hence this was how this gluten free tart crust was born.

And then this savory tart, which I threw together quickly with what I had handy when I returned from the farm feeling hungry.

Dont ask but that type of food somehow connected me to my day on the farm even more.

It was exactly what I wanted to eat.

Tartelettes aux lgumes verts

For the crust:

You need:

• 1/2 cup millet flour
• 1/2 cup brown rice flour
• 1/2 cup buckwheat flour
• 1.5 teaspoons xantham gum
• 0.5 teaspoon sea salt
• 7 tablespoons (100 g) cold butter, diced
• 1 egg
• 4 (or more as needed) tablespoons cold water

Steps:

• In the bowl of a food processor, combine the flours, xantham gum and salt. Add the butter and use the pulse option to work this mixture into crumbles.
• Add the egg and continue to pulse.
• Add the water, one tablespoon at a time and work until the dough detaches from the bowl.
• Transfer to a bowl and cover. Refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours. Bring back to room temperature before using.

For the topping:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 large leek, white part only, finely chopped
• 1 medium zucchini, finely grated
• Sea salt and pepper
• 1 garlic clove, finely minced
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup crme fraiche
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1 tablespoon chopped coriander
• 1 oz grated Comt cheese

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 F and garnish four 4.5-inch tartlet mold with the crustyou will have leftovers of dou! gh, whic h you can freeze or use for something else. Make small holes at the bottom of each with a fork and set aside.
• In a frying pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. When warm, add the leek and zucchini and ground coriander. Season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring, for about 2 minutes. Add the garlic and continue to cook for 3 more minutes, until soft but not brown. Stop the heat.
• In a bowl, beat the eggs with the crme fraiche. Stir in the milk and fresh coriander. Add the cooked vegetables and stir in the Comt cheese.
• Divide the vegetable batter between the tartlets and bake the tartlets for 25 minutes, or until the flan is set. Remove from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes before serving with a salad.

Share and Enjoy:

Taste of India (Bandung)

Taste of India is an Indian restaurant located in Bandung about 200 meters away from the train station. Inside is clean but not very original. The only things reminding you of an Indian restaurant are a few posters and some travel magazines.

The service was very efficient and friendly, especially if you are not familiar with Indian food and need help in choosing your dishes.

A typical meal will cost you around Rp 40-50,000 and the food is decent for that price. I found that the ingredients, especially the lamb were not the best, but the sauce and the preparation made the whole meal acceptable.

I recommend this restaurant only if you are a fan of Indian food and live nearby. Not recommended for the atmosphere.

Non Veg Menu

Taste Of India (Bandung)

Pasirkaliki 46

Bandung, West Java

Phone number: +62-22 423 4941