Coffee and Lavender Sugar Body Scrub

I made you something for not your mouth.

Wait is that the best way to say that?

I made you something for your body. For showering. For scrubbing. For smelling.

Something to keep you company while youre in the shower singing Whos Gonna Drive You Home by The Cars.

Dont act like you dont sing that song in the shower cause we all do.

right?

I love granulated sugar as a body scrub. It has just the right coarseness. Sweet but aggressive.

Fine-ground coffee is a great addition. Its fragrant and feels like morning. Lavender makes the whole scrub smell soapy.

The only ingredient you might not have on hand in vegetable glycerine. I found mine at Whole Foods. Its cheap and really great for a scrub.

Unlike using an olive oil or almond oil, vegetable glycerine leaves your skin feeling soft and happy but not completely coated in oil.

Take a closer look and read all about lavenders medical uses.

Gas? um cool!

Its as easy as stirring sugar, ground coffee, lavender with vegetable glycerine.

This is the part where I try to creep you out with my giant hands.

But just look how pretty this scrub is!

These hands are getting more creeptastic by the moment.

Scrub that scrub in and get ready to wash it off.

There might be a giant orange cat in your sink. Kick him out.

Washy wash.

Wait. Should we talk about my nails?

Hold on just a sec.

I love this scrub! Smooth, sweet smelling skin all from the kitchen.

Now.. if you use this body scrub in the shower, the coffee grinds might leave a little hint of brown in the shower. Dont freak out! Youre in the shower its e! asily ri nsed away.

If youre afraid of the brown, you can replace the ground coffee with more granulated sugar. No biggie. Do you.

Oh! This is my latest nail fashion. Im determined to have the nails of a DMV employee by the end of summer. Its getting real.

Coffee and Lavender Sugar Body Scrub

makes about 1 cup

Print this Recipe!

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup finely ground coffee (or use more granulated sugar if youre afraid of a brown scrub)

2 tablespoons dried lavender

1/2 cup vegetable glycerine

Combine all ingredients and stir well. Store in an airtight container for up to a week. I keep my scrub in the refrigerator, because I like it cold. Scrub on hands and body then rinse.

Authentic Organic Village Cuisines at Guangzhou, China

I feel kinda guilty to continue posting this after a long break. Well the journey continues. After having the Ginseng fed pigeons feast for lunch, we were then brought to feast on the traditional village organic cuisines where all the vege were self grown at the back yard and fishes were from their own farm. The place is known as in Chinese.

Located is the province of ZhaoQing 110 km northwest of Guangzhou, in the west Pearl River Delta. It lies on the north shores of the Xijiang River, which is flows from west to east, and opposite of Gaoyao. A plain area lies to the south and west of Zhaoqing, with mountains to the east and north.

With the average temp of 10C during the December month it is a perfect time to visit ZhaoQing which famous for their Zongzi (Bak Chang) and other own cultivated foods.

Nasi lemak shaped bak chang. It taste and having the same ingredients with out Cantonese Bak Chang back in Malaysia. Guangzhou is under Canton province and obviously it does taste like Cantonese style.

Very old school layout. Still maintaining the traditional village feel.

The main dining hall where mostly were family sized.

Sun Dried Vegetable soup

The soup were boiled for a very long period of time with the ingredients like dates, pork and sun dried own cultivated vege. I dont know how to call the vege but it does taste close to our Kai Choi which our mom for cooking the spicy and sour vege.

This is the sundried vege that use to boil the soup

Using the same soup base, there are Mak Kai Yuan Fish cooked in the soup

The fish look like this.

Madura Banana Leaf Rice - Sri Gombak, Batu Caves

My normal Banana leaf order. Mains will usually be Mutton Curry with a cup of complimentary spicy and sour Resam.

Madura is located on the old commercial side of Sri Gombak.Its not referring to the Indonesian island and Indonesian food. Its good ole Indian Banana Leaf rice. This genre is becoming a rare breed and hard to come by especially the really good ones. This one has the Indian touch and even mock vegetarian meat dishes. My first! The fares here are decent enough to attract repeats though it is not a standout. But still it is worthy of my customs over several occasions. The search for an outstanding Banana Leaf restaurant continues.

Poppadom is a must but sad to say some are selling it separately at RM0.50 per small plastic bag of Poppadom. Reminiscent of Indonesian food with its Keripik. A must for Banana Leaf Rice.

Berianyi. Looks like Spanish Paella (exaggerated). The texture put me off a bit asI rather the grains be less starchy and separated as any good Berianyi should be. Personal preference here.

The vegetarian dish. Mock Mutton I believe. It should have been better but I guess this segment is still new. Good effort to make it look and taste like the real thing.

Payasam sweet (very) desserts to end my meal.

Address: 9, Jalan SG 7/16, Taman Sri Gombak, 68100 Batu Caves

Te: 03 61853790, 017 3382271

Homemade Fish Ball Koay Teow Soup @ Carnavon Street, Penang

Years ago I blogged about a delicious Koay Teow Soup stall at Pitt Street Penang that uses local eels to make the fish balls. At that time, they were only renting a stall space in a coffee shop. But not long after that they were forced to move out due to conflicts with the coffee shops owner. What seemed like a sad turn of events turned out to be a blessing in disguise, as their business improved tremendously after they relocated to their very own shoplot.The fish balls are somewhat different from what you would normally have in Klang Valley, where the latter is usually firm and bouncy. Here, they are made to taste softer so if you are expecting the same you will be disappointed. It is still nice nonetheless, just different style in terms of texture. If you are wondering, all the fish balls they serve here are hand-made by the son. Before their business expanded to the current state they used to make the fish balls from scratch.However, now they do not have the luxury of time anymore so the more tedious tasks in fish ball making like skinning and grinding fish are being done by someone else. When the fish surimi is delivered to them then only they will start to turn it into fish balls. Actually, I have documented the entire fish ball making process so I might share it with you all one day.Besides the fish balls another thing to appreciate here is the handmade pork fillets that are specially prepared by the lady boss. It feels different (in a good way) from the other Koay Teow Thng that traditionally uses bak chor (minced pork ball) instead. Unlike the fish balls, the pork fillets quantity is quite limited and always sell out fastest. If you like it and want to have more you can also order them individually like what I have shown above.Either soup or dry, the noodle tastes great. But if you are opting for the dry one you should be glad to know that they use a high grade of dark soy sauce to flavor the noodles. If you ask me, I would prefer the dry version more because I am able to taste the smoothness of the koay teow better somehow. Just FYI the soup is boiled with a whole duck and huge pork bones for hours in the wee morning before they are ready to serve. The shredded meats you see on the noodle are actually the duck meat I mentioned earlier.The condiment is also specially prepared with secret ingredients, not just the normal mixture of cili padi and soy sauce.Baking is hobby of the lady boss so she also sells some of her tarts and cookies at the shop. I highly recommend you to try the Hap Tou Sou (walnut cookies) here. It tastes pretty darn good crunchy and fragrant. Quality ingredients are also used for baking here like. For example the walnut cookies are made with imported walnuts and top branded butter. Anyway, I know the butter or margarine argument will pop up again so let me just reassure you that the cookies are made with butter, simply because I have seen it myself.

Pitt Street Homemade Fish Ball Koay Teow Thng
183, Carnarvon Street,
10100 Penang
GPS Coordinates: N5 24.863 E100 20.034
Business hour: 9am 4.30pm. Closed on Sun & Mon

Share

Crispy Five Spice Spare Ribs

Crispy Five Spice Spare Ribs are marinated pork spare ribs that are deep-fried until crispy.

This is a simple spare ribs recipe that can be served as an appetizer or main dish. I love having this as an appetizer. It also goes well with almost any dipping sauce. I find this dish similar to Crispy Pata in terms of texture and taste. This is the reason why I enjoy dipping this in a mixture of vinegar, soy sauce, and chopped onions.

Making the spare ribs crispy is easy. You do not need to boil the ribs before frying (like most recipes require). All I did was deep-fry the ribs twice. This was the technique that I used to make Crispy French Fries.

Do you love spare ribs? What are your favorite spare rib recipes?

Try this Crispy Five Spice Spare Ribs recipe and let me know your thoughts.

Ingredients:

2 lbs pork spare ribs, chopped

2 teaspoons Five Spice Powder

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

2 tablespoons dry sherry or rice wine

4 tablespoons cornstarch

3 teaspoons salt

3 cups cooking oil

Procedure:

1. Combine ribs, five spice powder, salt, garlic powder, sherry, ground black pepper, and cornstarch. Mix well and marinate for at least 3 hours.

2. Heat a deep fryer or cooking pot and pour-in cooking oil.

3. Divide the marinated ribs into two batches.

4. When the oil turns hot, deep fry the first batch of marinated ribs for about 8 to 12 minutes.

5. Remove th! e first batch of ribs from the fryer and transfer to a plate. Meanwhile, deep fry the second batch for a good 8 to 12 minutes.

6. Remove the second batch of ribs from the fryer and transfer to a plate. Deep fry the first batch of ribs for the second time for another 10 minutes or until the texture becomes crispy.

7. Remove the first batch of ribs from the fryer and transfer to a serving plate lined with paper towels (this will absorb excess oil).

8. Put-the second batch of ribs in the fryer and fry for 10 minutes or until crispy.

9. Remove the second batch from the fryer and transfer to the serving plate with the first batch of ribs.

10. Serve. Share and enjoy!Related Posts:

• Nilagang Baboy Made Me Feel Warm Today
• Shared Recipe. Pork Ribs Maskipaps
• Ginataang Langka
• Igado
• Sarciadong Isda
• Humba
• Ube Halaya
• Ginataang Manok

KLickr (Kuala Lumpur Flickr) Heritage Themed Photo Walk with Kam Raslan

Let's take a little break from food and go for a walk. To be precise it is a slow walk aroundKuala Lumpur sprinkled with a splash of history and a dash of stories from the past.


Recently, I joined the KLickr (KL's Flickr group) Heritage Themed Photo Walk that was led by famous book author and newspaper columnist Kam Raslan. You may have seen Raslan's Ceritalah's column in The Star or his numerous books such as Confessions of an Old Boy gracing our local bookstores.


Having been a long standing fan of Raslan's works (I dutifully thumb through The Edge for his column every Saturday even though I've left the corporate world aeons ago), I was thrilled to have him rant about the city's notorious past. So raptured I was with the stories I admit I took very few photos to justify my existence in that photo group (hangs head in shame!).





Nevertheless I manage to cobble together a decent picture album for the Flickr set. However, I seriously doubt it is good enough for this Saturday's Urbanscapes (the most happening event with music, food, photos from Klickr and etc).


Back to the walk and that chunk of history. Tune out now if you fall asleep of the single mention of that H word.


But seriously, it is good stuff that had me riveted, which I will "try" to capture below in easy digestible chunks. I've also done some research and supplemented it with dates and more facts.





Why Kuala Lumpur as a city?


Raslan points out that historically capital cities are usually located next to a port. However, in our case it was a little different since Kuala Lumpur was nowhere near the port Klang or Swettenham as it was known those days.From what I read, prior to 1880s the port was originally the administrative centre. However it was subsequently shifted to Kuala Lumpur, which had gained a commercial importance as boats would dock near sand bank where the two rivers, Sungai Klang and Gombak met. These boats would carry goods that would be shifted onwards to the booming tin mines in Ampang.Raslan tells of how goods would be uploaded next to the bridge. Guards will stand there with guns not to shoot people from crossing the bridge but in case any crocodile from the river will attack these boat handlers.





Yap Ah Loy's town


Kuala Lumpur was ruled by the infamous Kapitan China, Yap Ah Loy. Raslan points out that the Chinese left their homeland China following the Taiping Rebellion where an estimated 25 million people perished during those bloody civil wars. The Chinese came in waves to work in the mines. Life was tough those days hence they turned to opium that was controlled by the Chinese secret societies headed by Yap. Raslan tells of a story on how Yap once issued a lucrative reward for the head of his enemies. People would overzealously cut off their friend's heads just to try and collect the reward.

Sultan Abdul Samad Building

The bridge divided the two areas - on one side it was Chinatown but on the other side was where the British held court. They built the magnificent Sultan Abdul Samad building that was named after the present Sultan of Selangor. Designed by Arthur Norman, the building had a Moorish influence that the British felt will fit in the area. The building housed the colonial British adminstrative headquarters.

Just across the road was the Padang that became the cricket playing grounds. There's a strange history reference that Raslan remembers which noted how a young Malay boy won a biscuit eating competition organised at the grounds.

Masjid Jamek

Designed by the same architect, Arthur Norman, the mosque was located on the sandbank where th

e two rivers converge together. In a similar style to the Sultan Samad Building, the domes bore a Moorish look to them. According to Raslan, t

he mosque was actually wrong aligned as it was built to fit that piece of land. It is the oldest mosque being built in 1909.

It was originally Malay burial grounds. Some of the graves were moved to other parts of KL when they built the mosque. It is interesting to note that in olden days, the river rose up to the bottom steps of the mosque which has now been raised higher and higher.

Medan Pasar - The Market Square


Just located off the landing point, this was the heart of Kuala Lumpur in those days. Yap Ah Loy's home built after 1881 was where the old HSBC building is located that faces the square (not the present building). Here he could oversee everything from his notorious dealings in the opium dens and gambling houses that he owned. During the day, stalls will be found n the square but at night, people flock here for opium and to gamble for a chance to get rich. After Yap's death, these stalls were then relocated to Central Market. Long before Central Market was a tourist place, it was a wet market.In 1937, an Art Deco clock tower with geometrical designs was built to commemorate the coronation of King George IV, the present Queen Elizabeth II's father.





Bukit Aman


The Colonial British used to have their police headquarters known as the Fort on a site overlooking the Padang. This was later renamed as Bukit Aman. This was one of the strategies the British employed since it was at higher ground that gave them a vantage point should the Chinese ever attack them. As a warning to the Chinese, everyday at noon the British will fire a cannon that could be heard as far as Chinatown.

Sin Sze Ya Temple

Located just behind the shophouses along Central Market, this small temple is said to be the oldest Taoist temple in Kuala Lumpur. Built by Yap Ah Loy in honour of the Sin Sze Ya deity, you can find a picture of the Kapitan China within the four walls of the temple.

Nowadays devotees offer their prayers here. Street people also consider this place their refuge to rest a while. The temple is a popular place for tourists and of course photographers.

I reckon it is the best place for photography since you get colourful characters and there's something real magical about the incense, hanging lanterns and joss sticks. We end our walk here with a group photo and a little Malaysian custom, a drink and a chat at the nearby mamak stall.







The walk was organised by KLickr in conjunction with this coming Saturday's Urbanscapes. If you haven't checked it out yet, do visit their site and see what acts are playing, food you get and of course en! tertainm ent like KLickr-ville. There are various photography contests and photo screenings. Read more about it here. Foodies can also look forward to The Last Polka's ice cream including their special one day KL flavour, which will be unveiled on that day itself. For more details on KLickr, follow them on facebook or join their KLickr group on Flickr.







If you are interested to learn more about Kuala Lumpur, there are free Heritage Walks conducted by volunteers. They take off from the Central Market Information Counter at 10.30am daily.

Bebek Bengil (Jakarta Branch)

Bebek Bengil is a Balinese restaurant, originally from Ubud, Bali, which opened a branch in Jakarta in 2009.

It was quite a challenge to re-create a Balinese atmosphere in Central Jakarta with the pollution and the traffic, but the final result is not bad. It would have been better to make it in a house in Menteng though because in its current location, you cannot help but see the towers all around the garden. There is another Balinese restaurant nearby which is more peaceful in my opinion, Baruna (see review).

The specialty of Bebek Bengil (which means "dirty duck") is the Crispy Duck. They also have some popular Balinese, Indonesian and Western dishes, but I didn't try them.

Here are a few pictures of the food we ordered:

Appetizer: Crispy Mushroom (Rp34k++)Main course: Crispy Duck (Rp72k++)Dessert: Vanilla Ice Cream Tart (Rp35k++)

I also had the "Hanoman street" mocktail (Rp35k++), very sweet but recommended.

I'm not a big fan of Crispy Duck: I find there isn't enough flesh to bite into and also, you never know if it is a bone, the skin or the meat that you are eating... I must recognize though that the one in Bebek Bengil is very tasty, especially if you eat it with the Balinese sambal they give you. I only had small bites of the Crispy Mushroom and Vanilla Ice Cream Tart, and I thought they were average.

Overall: Bebek Bengil is not an exceptional restaurant, but it is worth trying for its relaxing outdoor garden (far different from the original in Ubud, be warned!). Naturally, it is also recommended if you are a fan of Balinese-style Crispy Duck.

Opening hours:

Everyday, 11am to 11pm. Beware of mosquitoes if you come around sunset.

Bebek Bengil

The Ubud Building

Jl. Agus Salim No.132

Menteng, Jakarta 10310

Phone number: +62-21 391 8016 or +62-21 391 7965 or +62-21 391 8091

Fax: +62-21 391 7721

Email: bebekbengil.jakarta@yahoo.co.id

Also in Ubud:

Jalan Hanoman, Padang Tegal

Bali 80571

Phone number: +62 361 975 489 / 977 675

Fax: +62 361 975 489

Email: bebekbengil@indo.net.id