Sea Salt Baked Potatoes

I don't know what happened, but it has been years since I've baked potatoes. And by baked potatoes, I mean the classic kind - crispy jackets split open to reveal a fluffy white potato interior. The kind of potato flesh that likes to drink butter and mainline salt. But, on a quick grocery run after returning from Marfa, the russets were calling me. I remembered a simple, sea-salt baked potato recipe in Nigel Slater's Tender, grabbed some arugula, and was pretty confident I had everything else I'd need at home.

On the road trip front, a number of you have asked, somewhat incredulously, why we would drive to Marfa, Texas. To which I sort of tilt my head, and start thinking more about it. There seems to be a long answer and a short answer. The short? We went to see visit this. The longer answer - we drove through Palm Springs, and Valentine, Canyon de Chelly, and Willcox. And cooked at beautiful rest stops, and took lots of pictures, and caught up on magazines, and sat in the sun, and saw this, and ate dinner outside more nights than not. I've driven through the Southwest and parts of northern Mexico a good number of times now, and West Texas is particularly be! autiful. When you're out in the middle of the desert, its quiet. So so so so quiet. I love it.

The potatoes? Really good too - give them a go. The spicy arugula and luxe dressing works perfectly. Top with a fried egg, and you've got a meal on your hands. And for any of you who have {or will be) cooking recipes from Tender, feel free to join in here.

Continue reading Sea Salt Baked Potatoes...

Jessica Thompson - Another Bandar Sri Damansara Restaurant

This is an underground favourite to many Anglophiles living in Bandar Sri Damansara. The name sounds right. The feel is there. The shop also 'tripled' up as a furniture and gift shop. The tables, chairs and cabinets are for sale. The artificial flowers and gifts are also for sale. There is a British air around this place. There isonly a few tables available and the food was proclaimed as"Home-made, High Fibre, Choice Ingrediuents, No Preservatives, No Colouring, No Artificial Flavouring, Low Sugar, andMoist."

I find the food here has flair, the ingredients are of good quality and the owner has taken the extra mile in formulating some exquisite taste whether it is in the dressing for the salad and also the main courses.

Tip: Try out their pies and cakes.

I like their tea. It comes with a teapot. And surprise. Brown sugar is made available as the sweetener.

My chicken sandwich was bursting with flavour. The roas! ted chic ken though was a bit over-roasted but still very solid generous pieces. And premium slices of bread was used. I can imagine it is also home-made.

The chicken chop was one of its kind and it comes with my favpurite SCS butter. One of the 'old brand' and a premium one. It was 'the' butter brand in time past time. Meat was tender and the gravy was out of this world. There was some tart in it together with the savoury touches with a sprinkling of herbs. Now what do you do with the bread except to be used to pick up the gravy! Polish the plate clean.

The Beef Lasagna shined.It was ceamy because of the cheese and compact from the generous amount of beef used. A hefty piece for a nearty meal. Bring an empty stomach.

Note: they also operate as an imsurance agent.

Address:

16G, Jalan Cempaka SD 12/2

Bandar Sri Damansara (Next to Post Office)

Tel: 03 62756755

Mobile: 0122385393 (Mark Chin)

Cornbread

A Cornbread is a type of bread made with cornmeal. It is considered as a quick bread (these breads that take lesser time to make); this type of bread can be made using different cooking methods.

The common ways of making cornbread are baking, frying, and steaming. Each cooking method will produce a different cornbread. Steamed cornbread are more like the Filipino Pudding. It has a heavy chewey texture. Baked cornbreads, on the other hand, are similar to corn cakes. This is the type of corn bread that will be produced by following this recipe.

Cornbread is very popular in the USA. This is usually eaten with barbecue, beef brisket, pulled pork, and even chili. Some people like to have cornbread to go with their soup. As for me, I like dipping baked cornbread in coffee.

Cornbread Muffins is a more flavorful version of cornbread. Its flavor and texture can be compared to Kenny Rogers Roasters Corn Muffins. Aside from using cornmeal, it also requires sorn kernels. This sweet corn kernels make these muffins taste better.

I tried eating chicken barbecue and chicken inasal with cornbread, and I enjoyed it.

Try this Cornbread recipe and let me know what you think.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter, softened

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup cornmeal

1 cup granulated white sugar

1 1/2 cups milk

1 1/4 tablespoons baking powder

3 pieces raw eggs

1 teaspoon salt

Watch the cooking video:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPjExgZf0DQ

Cooking procedure:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. Combine flour, corn meal, baking powder, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Stir and set aside.

3. Cream butter and sugar using an electric mixer.

4. Gradually add the eggs and milk with the creamed butter and sugar.

5. Gradually put-in the flour and corn meal mixture while mixing the other ingredients.

6. Pour the batter in a rectangular cake pan.

7. Place inside the oven and bake for 21 to 25 minutes

8. Remove the cake pan from the oven and let cool.

9. Slice the corn bread into serving pieces.

10. Transfer to a serving plate, and then serve.

11. Share and enjoy!Related Posts:

• Cornbread Muffins

Cereal Prawns

Cereal prawns (artificial light gives bad food photos doesn't it), a tasty dish of crispy cereal, prawns, butter, curry leaves and chilies.

This is a simple recipe from a Singaporean TV cooking show that I found on YouTube. I adjusted some of the ingredients to my taste and also peeled half the prawns and left the balance unpeeled just to see which ones taste better. Traditionally the prawns for this dish are not shelled and yes, my conclusion is that the unshelled prawns taste better. Instead of large prawns, I suggest using medium-sized prawns for their thinner shells because they crisp thoroughly so that the shells can be eaten too, along with the cereal sticking to the shells. Prawn shells are made of chitin which has been found to have health benefits (glucosamine is made from prawn shells and chitin speeds up healing of wounds and skin) so no harm there. This is a delicious but rather rich dish so proceed with caution.

Cereal Prawns
500 gm (10 to 12) medium large prawns, shells and heads on & butterflied
1/2 beaten egg
2 to 3 T cornflour (plain flour in original recipe)
2 sprigs of curry leaves
1 to 2 t chopped bird's eyes chilies (or milder red chili)
1 cup cereal
3 T milk powder
2 T icing sugar
optional: a few shakes of msg
3 T butter

veg oil for frying

1. Mix the milk powder, cereal, icing sugar and msg in a bowl. Marinade the prawns with some salt, white pepper, the 1/2 egg and cornstarch.

2. Deep-fry the prawns in hot oil until very crispy and cooked but do not overcook or prawns'll get tough and dry. Drain well. In restaurants, such prawns can be deep-fried until half-cooked and re-fried upon orders. The second frying makes very crispy prawn! s that s tay crisp longer. If shelling the prawns (remove the shell from the body only, leave the heads and tails on), just shallow-fry both sides in a pan with a smear of oil.

3. In a clean frying pan or the same wok used for frying the prawns earlier, add the butter and the leaves (so that the leaves have more time to crisp) under medium-low heat. When leaves are crispy, reduce heat to very low, add the cereal mixture and stir, until the cereal turns golden and crispy. Be careful not to burn the cereal; they burn easily.Add the fried prawns to mix and dish up. Serve immediately.

Gili Bar (Puri Denpasar Hotel)

Gili bar, club and karaoke is located inside Puri Denpasar Hotel. Opened at the beginning of 2011, it is still quiet, with most customers being clients of the hotel. For those interested, there are a few girls at the bar, and you can book one to accompany you in the karaoke room, for singing only.

Overall: Too early to recommend or not, if you stay in the hotel it is worth checking though.

Practical information:

Prices of the karaoke: Rooms from Rp100k to Rp225k.
Live band every night: Classic Rock, Acoustic Nite, Oldies, etc.

Opening h! ours:
Monday: From 8pm to 1am
Tuesday: From 1pm to 1am
Wednesday: From 7.30pm to 1am
Thursday: 1pm to 1am
Friday: 8pm to 1am
Saturday: 1pm to 1am

Gili Bar & Club Jakarta

Puri Denpasar Hotel

Jl. Denpasar Selatan No.1

Jakarta, Indonesia 12950

Phone number: +62-21 527 5542
Website: http://www.puridenpasar.com

VIDEO! Hosting Ms Catherine Bell from Dish Magazine, NZ in KL, Malaysia

We had a blast makan makan over 2 days with Ms Catherine Bell, Food Director from Dish magazine, New Zealand just last week! Thank you to everyone who kindly made time to join us & to show Catherine around our wonderful city & share with her the history, cultural & food of Malaysia!

Video 1 is up! Thanks to Bryan for the wonderful editing & to both him & Nigel for the shoot.

Do watch it! Not for me obviously, but for Catherine, a visitor to our country who is really interested in learning more about Malaysias people, cuisine & culture. Watch as she enjoys her bak kut teh, nasi lemak & yong tau fu!

I had another video made; and this ones for her culinary trip to our historical Baba Nyonya state Malacca. Stay tuned for that yea! We gorged ourselves silly on pork lard popiah (spring rolls), had the most delightful true-blue nyonya dinner & chicken rice balls.
Would have loved to join her in Kuching prior to her visit in Malacca but unfortunately that was a bit of a stretch to fly all the way there. Anyhow, she loved Kuching food! Thanks Pierce for bringing her around!

So, feedback anyone? Where would you have bought her to dine if you were hosting her? I would love to hear of your suggestions!

Thai Pork Noodles & Som Dtam @ Lai Thai Market, Section 17, Petaling Jaya

I'm always a big believer of sniffing out good food with some help of those who know best. Hence, when Chef Korn from my favourite Thai restaurant, Erawan (we just did a revisit for the umpteenth time and discovered more yummy dishes!) mentioned this place I knew I had to give it a try. I was told that there's l! inks bet ween this Section 17 place with the other Thai products market in Pandan Indah.
This tiny space is primarily a store with goods laid out haphazardly but on the side they also serve up simple Thai fare like pork noodles (RM5) and a Northern Thai specialty, Som Dtam (RM5). Expect no frills, limited table space mingling with Thai voices gaily enjoying their country's specialties when they drop by to pick up supplies. There's a communal feel to the place especially when it gets crowded with a group of Thai women who seem to know each other.
The pork noodles is quite similar to the Chinese version except the broth has a cleaner taste. You add the Thai flavours by helping yourself to the condiments on the table like a dash of chilli flakes, a sprinkle of sugar and a shake of the fish sauce bottle. I slurp down my bowl happily since it includes my favourite silky smooth kuey teow noodles. Since I didn't speak Thai and the owners weren't too fluent in English, I was a little lost on what else was on offer until I saw the ladies ordering Som Dtam or green papaya salad.
Thud, thud...went the long wooden pestle in the clay pot as the lady prepped the salad. Everything is done once an order is made hence the salad was very fresh. She'll add a dash of lime juice, chuck in the lime halves to pound it further to let the aromatic oils to mingle with the shredded papaya. Chillies are added to your liking and you can even taste the seasoning halfway through the making of the salad to make sure it was to your palate. A dash of fish sauce, long beans, tomatoes, peanuts, a sprinkle of dried prawns and the salad is ready. The whole pounding exercise helps the papaya soften and absorb the dressing. The Thai trinity of sweet-sour-spicy flavours are all in this salad, making you crave for a little more of the crunchy shreds.
Aside from the salad and the noodles, you can also pick up! these p arcels wrapped in banana leaves that contain a banana stuffed glutinous rice dumplings. I admit I felt it was quite bland even though the rice was a nice soft texture. I reckon I'll stick to my noodles and the Som Dtam for my return visit.
The place works on an interesting schedule, as they're only open for Thursday to Sunday, from 10am to 5pm. The rest of the time, the owners travel back to Thailand to source for their fresh supplies. Usually their regulars know the schedule well and patronise them on Thursday to get the freshest vegetables.


Lai Thai Market
AG-3, Block A
Happy Mansion
Jalan 17/13
Section 17
Petaling Jaya


Tel: 03-7954 4688


(Non Halal. Same row as MM Cafe. More pictures in my flickr set.)


*Disclaimer: The opinions expressed here is entirely based on my personal tastebuds and may vary for others. This review is time sensitive; changes may occur to the place later on that can affect this opinion. The reviewer also declares that she has not received any monetary or non-monetary compensation from this place for writing the review.

Ricetaurant

Ricetaurant's name might evoke thoughts of Penang's curry-soaked nasi kandar, Madrid's saffron-scented paella or Bangkok's fluffy, fragrant khao pad moo, but the BIG Group's latest venture takes an unforeseen route, exploring the soul of old-school Chinese cooking instead.

Ricetaurant (we love saying that name!) replaces For Goodness Sake, ensuring that puns continue to have a place in Bangsar Village. This dimly lit eatery is meant to conjure impressions of alleyway food stalls from a bygone era, romanticized in contemporary pop culture via movies like Wong Kar-wai's "In The Mood For Love."

Ricetaurant (there's that name again!) hosted a preview dinner on the eve of its opening this week, treating nearly two dozen guests to a feast of simple but mostly satisfying fare such as these steamed mixed root veggies.

Lotus root & peanut soup. Always adored this when my grandmother made it more than two decades ago; still love it here. Comfort ! food for all ages.

Be sure to order at least a half-portion of Ricetaurant's fantastic fowl: the house specialty of chicken, aromatically smoked to succulent perfection.

"Four Kings" belacan veggies. Not a smashing success, mainly because the belacan lacks oomph compared to the full-bodied versions we grew up with in Malacca.

Another standout: wok-fried cod with soy sauce. The fish seems like some kind of miracle _ immaculately crisp on the outside, achingly soft and flaky within.

Criminally addictive salted egg prawns with curry leaves.

King Toh beef steak. Tender slices of meat, cooked medium well and slathered in a rich sauce that's a little sugary, a little savory, a little nutty _ but very much Chinese.

Red curry duck confit with lychee. More Thai than Chinese, but we can't complain. The curry is the thick, relatively dry kind, somewhat similar to rendang.

Omelet with bitter gourd. One of the cheaper items on the menu; except for the soups, which cost about RM6, most of Ricetaurant's dishes start at slightly over RM12.

Braised tofu with chicken & salted fish. Too bland to really recommend; basically comparable to what a mediocre "chap fan" stall might serve.

Putting the 'rice' in Ricetaurant: claypot chicken rice. For now, there isn't all that much rice on the menu here, aside from several fried rice recipes.

Red bean soup. Perfectly calibrated in both taste & texture: not too sweet, not too watery.

Pomelo juice and apple, elderflower & lychee juice.

Ricetaurant,

2F-29, Bangsar Village 2, Kuala Lumpur.

Tel: 03-2287-1566

Tree House (Kemang)

Tree House caf is an "alternative" hang-out venue in Kemang. It is the kind of bar you are usually more likely to find in Europe than in Indonesia. As such, it isn't surprising that the two young owners, Anton Massoni and Francois Heirbaut, are respectively mixed Indonesian-Italian and mixed Indonesian-Belgian.

Tree House is small and deliberately messy, but it probably helps the guests feel more comfortable. On the walls, you have paintings from local artists and it is expected that new exhibitions will take place regularly. There isn't a fixed live music schedule yet, so be sure to check their facebook/twitter for updates.

It is still new but I predict it will become a very popular spot. Tree House is trendy and it is in the mood of our times: eco-friendly, artsy and original. It is similar with 365, one of the best bars in Kemang.

Food and drink: The menu features Italian dishes (pasta) and snacks, as well as a selection of cocktails.

Opening hours: Open everyday (except on Monday): From 4pm to midnight (3am on weekends).

Tree House Jakarta
Jl. Kemang 1 No. 72, Kemang, South Jakarta
Phone number: +62-21 7179 1168
Email: info@treehousekema! ng.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/treehousekemang
Facebook: Tree House Kemang
Website (with the menu): http://www.treehousekemang.com

Photo credit: Nick Easton