Whats in a name? A lot!

Not very pretty-looking but the steamed fish head with red hot chillies tastes wonderful... especially after its been sitting in the sauce a while.

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 10 We were set to complete our trilogy of Sichuan restaurants with Xin Dong Tong in Pudu, Kuala Lumpur, when we discovered it was really a Hunanese restaurant. (We had already eaten at TKS in Jalan Alor, and ZGM Ramen in Imbi before this.) Whats the difference you may ask?

Hunanese food seems more refined and less obvious than Sichuan food, with the use of salted pickled red chillies in quite a number of dishes. There is also the liberal sprinkling of fried dried red chillies, but somehow the heat is gentler than in Sichuan food.

The panfried stick prawns is a must-try.

You can find fragrant spices like star anise, cinnamon, fennel and cumin, and a few Sichuan peppercorns in some of the dishes, but it is not used till it numbs, as in Sichuan food. Pork (and pigs innards), beef, duck and lamb feature in a Hunanese menu, as do fish and eel.

Its hard to forget the dishes we had at Xin Dong Tong. Top of our list was the Braised Pigs Trotter which had deepfried dried chillies heaped over it. The skin of the meat glistened in the dark brown sauce, and it offered tender, creamy bites, a wonderful balance of the fat and lean, the fragrance of spices well infused in it. The chillies offered a welcoming slow burn.

Our first dish had been the Boiled Pigs Stomach Peppercorn Soup. It was more a stew than a soup, hot and peppery, with salted vegetables giving a tart kick to it. The slices of pigs stomach had a crunch to them.

We also had an appetizer of braised chicken feet with chilli and Sichuan peppers. It was all about the firm, springy chicken skin, with the chilli and pep! pers war ming up the palate.

Shredded potato and chilli... an unsual and crunchy dish.

We were pleasantly surprised by the Shredded Potato with Chilli. The diced potato had a crunchy bite, and tasted more like a vegetable than potato. We surmised that the potato must have been diced and soaked in salt water to get rid of the starch, then wokfried with pickled salted chilli, onions and spring onion.

We later checked a Hunanese cookbook and found we were right. It seemed so simple but tasted so good. There was a little sourness in the chilli that worked well with the potato. I had repeated helpings of this.

We also had the Steamed Fishhead with Red Hot Chilli. Its a fleshy silver carp that looked quite lethal with the red chillies and their seeds smothering it. I spotted bits of preserved black beans among the chilli, and these salty bursts tempered down the tartness and hotness of the bright red hot chillies. We liked the fish even more after it had sat some time in the sauce, the flavours embracing the fish and upping its tastiness.

The spicy chicken feet will wake up any appetite.

Panfried Stick Prawns was our last dish. As the name suggests, the prawns were threaded on a stick and deepfried, and then buried under deepfried dried chillies, fried garlic, onions, and sprinkled with sesame seeds. They were excellent the salt hitting the tongue first, then the scent and numbing sensation of Sichuan peppercorns and chilli, and the sweetness of onions. The shells of the prawns were so crispy you could crunch them whole and eat them with the prawns.

The menu is quite extensive at Xin Dong Tong, and its worth many more visits. The food is priced reasonably: the braised trotter is RM38, pigs stomach soup RM18, and everything else between RM20 and ! RM30.

Other dishes I would like to try include Stewed Eel in Wine, Shredded Duck with Beer, Stewed Pigs Intestines with Special Sauce, Bacon with Marinated Green Beans, Fried Shredded Greens with Minced Pork (a lot of people were ordering this!), Stewed Beancurd with Fishhead and Hot Spicy Diced Chicken.

Xin Dong Tong is located at 194 Jalan Changkat Tambi Dollah, off Jalan Pudu (Tel: 03-2144-4128).

Midori

Ahh, buffets. The economical route to satisfy those all-too-familiar sashimi cravings.

Fahrenheit 88's Midori features a fair selection of freshly sliced raw fish & oysters. Not top-notch, but decent enough to warrant multiple helpings.

Plenty of sushi too to stuff the stomach ...

... plus tempura & takoyaki (though these tend to get cold on the counter).

Shabu-shabu _ cooked at the table _ is worthwhile, though the dashi broth is bland. Ingredients for the soup include prawns, bamboo clams & fish.

Butter cr! abs and other dishes prepared to order are also available, similar to other buffet outlets like Tenji and Jogoya.

Overwhelming quantity over quality, but at least nobody will leave this place hungry.

Service is efficient, but the restaurant imposes two different sessions for dinner: 5.30-8pm and 8pm-10.30pm. No overlapping allowed.

Booze is not a problem, with this small carafe of sake costing a reasonable 12 ringgit.

Midori,

Fahrenheit 88, Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur.

Spider-Man Dr. Pepper Red Velvet Cupcakes

When I saw Williams-Sonoma Spider-Man cupcake decorating kit I knew I had to make something with it. Red velvet seemed like the natural choice for him but it needed more pizazz. Around the time the movies came out, I remember them always advertising Dr. Pepper with it. Since they are both red they must taste great together. Only logical.

To make my life easier I decided to use a cake mix and came across the Fun da Middles (their spelling not mine). Which basically makes your own Hostess cupcake with a cream filling! Yes! I must say it is fun, clever and tasty but if you cannot find it, a jar of frosting will work too. I felt with the stuff in the center we don't need more frosting on top so I didn't put any there. You may disagree and you may want to put some on top. I won't judge you.

And I do apologize for all of the chemicals in this. You could potentially get super powers from eating one of these. Or potentially screw up your brain thinking you have super powers. You win either way.

Spider-Man Red Velvet Cupcakes

What you need:

1 box chocolate cake mix (preferably Fun in da Middle)

1 can Dr. Pepper

1 container red food coloring

1 jar frosting (unless you have the super cool cake mix)

What you do:

Preheat the oven to 350 F and line a muffin tin with cupcake liners. In a large bowl, mix together the cake mix and Dr. Pepper until well combined. Then stir in the food coloring until it is bright red. Divide the batter amongst the cupake liners, filling them 2/3 of the way, about 2 tablespoons of! batter in each. Then place a dollop of the frosting in the center of the batter, making sure it does not touch the sides. Then place another third or tablespoon of batter on top. Smooth over the batter making sure they are all even and bake for 30 minutes.

Carrot Ginger Coconut Soup and Kale Chips

Eight Things

One. When did I get so annoyingly healthy? Let me just tell you eating wholesome Vegan Carrot Ginger Coconut Soup makes Nachos with jalapenos, sour cream, and extra guacamole taste AWESOME! I know this to be true.

Two. Does this shadow make me look fat? Dont answer that. unless you want to say that I look skinny. Then you can totally answer it. This is me and my best friend Rachel. Rachel just moved to Missouri. I didnt cry when she drove away with her car packed to the gills with her belongings. except I totally did, I just didnt want her to see me.

Three. Its hard when people go and youre left to stay. It makes me want Nachos with jalapenos, sour cream, and extra guacamole.

Four. I spend more time that I would ever want to at the laundromat thats because I love clean sheets, and I dont own 7 sets of clean sheets. There are a lot of lines at the laundromat. Lines of tables. Lines of tiles. Lines of baskets. Lines of Venice beach weirdos. There is time at the laundromat to sit without computers. There is time at the laundromat to stare at the swirling dryer its like yoga, but not yoga.

Five. Why is is so hard to mature, and learn, and grow when its so easy to flub, slip and regress? The growth, the maturation, the learning. man oh man that takes courage. The flubbing, the stumbling, the regression. blerg recognizing that takes courage too.

All of these things I told you about Turning TwentyOne trust me when I tell you that I only know these things from thoroughly and frequently falling on my face.

Six. There is a certain amount of kindness that you must grant yourself to keep learning and growing and slipping and flopping.

Kindness and green things. Give this to yourself.

Seven. Theres a lot I can learn from this animal: eat everyones food and always assume that everyone wants to play with you.

Eight. When in doubt because were all in doubt sometimes think of yourself as the underdog, play the Olympic theme song in your head, and root for yourself like crazy. Thats what Im doing. Its working. Know why? Because underdogs always win, even when they dont.

.and its totally ok if youre looking at me like Im crazy right now.

Vegan Carrot Ginger Coconut Soup

This soup is the picture of health. Sweet carrots are cooked down and mixed with spicy ginger and creamy coconut. Its vegan. Its healthy. Your insides will totally throw a parade in your honor. I like to serve this soup with crusty bread I like to serve everything w! ith crus ty bread.

Print this Recipe!

serves 4 to 6

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium onion, diced

3 tablespoons minced ginger

3/4 teaspoon ground coriander

4-5 cups diced carrots

3 cups vegetable broth

1 cup light coconut milk

salt and pepper to taste

Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onions and saute until onions are translucent, about 4 minutes. Add ginger and saute for another 4 minutes, until softened and fragrant. Add coriander and diced carrots. Stir to incorporate. Add the vegetable broth, reduce heat, and simmer mixture until carrots are completely softened, about 30 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool for 20 minutes.

Using a blender, blend soup in batches until smooth. (You can also use an emulsion blender in the pot and never have to move the soup if youre into that sort of convenience.) Return soup to pot, stir in coconut milk. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve soup warm with crusty vegan bread.

Kale Chips

These are not potato chips. Dont let anyone tell you that they taste as good as potato chips. They dont. Potato chips are uuuuhhhh-mazing. These chips are also delicious. Believe it or not, kale bakes up into a crisp paper, chip-like consistency. The flavor is light, but green and you can add just about any seasoning youd like. Old Bay Seasoning? A total dream come true. Try them. The crunch is addicting. Oh! I like using dinosaur kale (the flatter kale variety) because they leaves are more easily removed from the stalk. Try any kale you can get your hands on!

Print this Recipe!

1 pound bunch of dinosaur kale

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon olive oil

any seasoning youd like: Old Bay Seasoning, Grill Seasoning, smoky paprika, chili flakes, sea salt and coarse black pepper.

Preheat oven to ! 275 degr ees. Thoroughly clean and dry kale leaves. Remove the fiberous center stalk from the kale by tearing the leaves away from the stalk. The center stalk will bake up very tough, thats why we remove it.

Place kale leaves on one or two baking sheets. Leaves should be in a single layer for the most part. Sprinkle with olive oil and seasoning. Toss with your hands. Add more seasoning if youd like.

Place pan(s) in the oven and bake for 15 minutes. Remove sheet(s) and toss leaves with tongs. Return to the oven to bake for another 15 minutes. after 30 minutes of baking, turn the oven off and allow the leaves to dry in the cooling oven for another 30 to 45 minutes. Theyll be crisp and ready to snack on in no time!

Store kale chips in an airtight bag. Theyll last anywhere from several minutes (because theyre an irresistible snack) to several days (because your husband doesnt like kale).