Hairy & Available, For A SHORT TIME Only, At Chef Choi

Once a year, they come. Much like a frigid woman.

They adorn the posters of all worthy Chinese restaurants, inviting clients to come and sample their hairy legs, and suck out their delicious insides.


This one comes modestly wrapped under a blanket.... as if to tantalize and seduce....


She says, "Sorry, I'm tied up at the moment"...(did I steal your line, Ciki?)


Ah, the sheer bliss and esctasy of the roe. Or is it sperm? Okay, the debate raged as to whether or not these were male or female crustaceans, since both are hairy anyway. A certain appendage distinguishes the male from the female, and Chef Tai Sim insists this was male, though our hostess CS insisted otherwise. We'll take the word of the chef....so, if Sebastian here is male, ... then what are we eating?


Apart from his sweet succulent flesh, that is....


These bits of sinful goodness...that rich creamy whatever, that melts in your mouth, and slides down your throat as you go through spasms of delight. Due to lack of consensus as to the sexuality of the crab and whether it was sperm, or roe, we decided to call it HE-ROE.


Check out those succulent legs with tender meat and the hairy arms, or pincers.


Now, this elevates noodles to dizzying new heights...



Even higher than this fork is doing....

Seriously, this Braised Ee Fu Noodles with hairy crab meat (that's "HAIRY! CRAB" - meat, not "HAIRY" crab meat), is to die for. That natural creamy goodness from the roe, tossed into the springy ee fu noodles, cooked to perfection, with that oh so sweet crab meet, sublime. I could just eat this and be be happy.

Now, as time is of the essence, and these Hairy babies are here but for short time, and will be gone, I can assure you, before the next General Election, hurry over to CHEF CHOI, at

Chef Choi Restaurant
159 Jalan Ampang
Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03-2163 5866

This is but PART of the fabulous meal we had...will post more on the Fellowship of the Pig

Wednesday Advice: Be a Friend

A thought for this Wednesday:

Tell a friend that you love them. Tell them that you think theyre incredibly special that youre lucky to spend time with them, and share smiles, and lunch, and lavender soda. Its an important thing to tell people. We dont know how long we get to last in the world.

I care about you. I made you beef stew. Recipe shortly.

Ponycat @ New Farm, Brisbane

I might as well make it official.


Yes, I am moving to Melbourne beginning 2012.


I thought I would be much more happy than I should be but it feels more like an unwanted son going back to a mother that didn't want him to begin with, compound by the fact that the unwanted son is casting away his foster mother who's been treating him well.


It was probably not a move I had anticipated but you could say one thing lead to another and the opportunity to live life in Melbourne became a reality, a chance I couldn't say no to.


There are still mixed feelings about leaving the place we called home in the last 14 months or so and we will be making the best out of it till we fly back home in mid December.


Meanwhile, I need to dig deep into the archives of photo and finish up this foodie adventure of mine.


---


Reading Urbanspoon and some of the local blogs, Ponycat seems to pop up once in a while for a good breakfast. However the thought of going there never crossed our minds and it wasn't until one day we decided, ok lets go.


Looking at the address, I had no idea it was a trot away from Choquette, my weekly source of bread and at one time, pastries.


Back to Ponycat. The place is rather small with an open kitchen so I reckon it was fortunate we got a place outside. The only troublesome thing was the menu is written on a board inside the restaurant and I found myself standing awkwardly in the middle of the restaurant reading the menu, pressured to find something I like.


The menu is a mix of classic dishes with one or two highlights.

Corn pancakes with eggplant relish and bacon was something that caught my eye. However the Wife was too tempted to just walk across to Choquette for that to die for Almond Croissant. Foodwise, the combination of ingredients and flavours worked and strayed away from the good old poached eggs and hollandaise sauce.

The Coffees were a mixed bag. I had a latte that was well made but the Cappuccino came out rather bitter, maybe an over extraction of the espresso shot.

Overall to us, it was another one of those breakfast spots that we would consider over the weekend but not dream about in our sleep.

Address and contact details:

Verdict: 3.5 stars out of 5 stars. A decent breakfast spot in this part of town.

Durian Tang Yuan

Durian mochi/tang yuan--sooner or later someone will come up with this or maybe someonealreadyhas but this is my version.

I had a bit of leftover durian flesh and had no idea what to do with it. Then I saw a copy of Silkroad, the Dragonair inflight magazine that Yo had brought for me. The latest issue featured Hong Kong dessert houses and the new desserts, the most unusual one being a bitter gourd sherbet. Now that's a dessert I can't wait to try next time. It must be quite an eating experience!

Instead of red bean or sesame paste, I filled my tang yuan (glutinous rice balls) with the lefttover mashed durian flesh, sprinkled some dessicated coconut (fresh shaved coconut would've been perfect but I was too lazy to run out for that) over and drizzled a light gula melaka (palm sugar, the best-tasting sugar in the world) syrup over. I served the tang yuan warm because tang yuen hardens when chilled.

The durian-filled tang yuan, covered with sweet coconut flakes and gula melaka, was stunning. I hope this has not already been done before because I'm patenting this for my dessert house! I'm kidding but I think if I have a dessert house, this item will be a huge hit. If there's one thing I've gained from the Jelliriffic! Challenge, it's the obsession in creating new recipes.The mushy durian is a little bit tricky to handle but you can half-freeze it.You must make this.

How good can durian get? This good.

Durian Tang Yuan (makes 7 to 8 balls)
3/4 cup finest, freshest glutinous rice flour
1/4 cup room temp water
1/4 cup durian flesh, mashed with a fork and hard clumps removed & half-frozen
Topping: fresh or desiccated coconut shavings
light gula melaka syrup*

* if not available, any other sugar syrup

1. Mix the flour with the water until the dough comes together. You may have to add more flour or water. Divide into 7 or 8 small portions.
2. Dust your palms, roll one ball until smooth, then press it into a flat circle (not too thin!) and put a teaspoon of durian flesh inside. Pinch the edges together to seal and roll again into a smooth ball. Repeat until all the dough is done. Place into fridge to firm up, about 15 minutes.
3. Boil a pot of water. Take the balls out. Dust your hands again with glu rice flour, roll the balls between your palms until round and smooth and drop them into the boiling water. Immediately use a pair of chopsticks or slotted spoon to move the ball so that they won't stick to the bottom of the pot. Turn the heat to medium. When the balls rise, they are done. I like to switch the fire off, cover the pot and wait a couple of minutes.
4. Scoop the balls out with a slotted spoon onto a bowl. Sprinkle coconut shavings over and drizzle with sugar syrup.

Tommy Le Baker & PH Pastry House

For fans of bread & cakes, here's a double dose of destinations for us to pursue pastry passions & abandon Atkins aspirations.

First up, Tommy Le Baker, a small bakery-cafe hidden in a Sentul apartment block, run by a Malaysian-born pastry chef who honed his craft in France.

Tommy Le Baker's specialties include baguettes & sourdough bread, but we only tried his tarts. This apple confection was a joy _ flaky & full of ripe fruit.

Banana tart, warmed up on order. Respectably moist, not overly sugary.

Latte & caffe mocha. Steaming-hot beverages might not have been the wisest order at an outlet that lacks air-conditioning.

Tommy's credentials _ an assurance that standards here are high.

Next, we return to PH PastryHouse, focusing purely on carbs for this round.

Earlier entry on PH PastryHouse: November 14.

Whatever we've sampled so far from PH Pastry's bread selection has been supremely satisfying _ aromatic rosemary raisin bread & an enjoyably crusty walnut cranberry loaf.

Our first time trying this dessert dubbed the "Concorde," created by a Parisian chef in the 1970s to celebrate the plane of the same name. Constructed with creamy Manjari chocolate mousse & crispy meringue for a top-flight interplay of textures.

A melding of French & Italian sensibilities: Chocolate & hazelnut mousse, encased in almond macaron shells. Imagine the flavor of Ferrero Rocher, presented in a uniquely d! ifferent fashion.

Raspberry panna cotta, remarkably soft & smooth. Impossible to share.

Green tea cake. Fresh & flavorsome _ what more can we demand of dessert?

Milkshakes bring all of us to the yard: Intrinseco (coffee vanilla) & Foresta Nera (choc cherry).

Tommy Le Baker,

Viva Residency, Jalan Ipoh (opposite KLPAC), Kuala Lumpur.

Open Tues-Sun, 10am till evening.

Tel: 03-4043-2546

PH PastryHouse,

54, Jalan Utara, Off Jalan Imbi, Kuala Lumpur.

Tel: 03-2141-2208

American Ginseng Heat Reducing Soup

Soup Name: American Ginseng Heat Reducing Soup

Traditional Chinese Name: (Q cn hi d y l q jing hu tng)

Introduction:

This soup is great for reducing internal heat where you may have sore throat, canker/cold sores, sore muscles (from the fire in your bones) and overall heatiness in your body. Its not actually particular to any season, but more to a condition of the body caused by illness or circumstances. It is healing for the throat, lungs and respiratory system and eliminates unwanted heat.

What ingredients are required?

1 chicken (whole), skinned and quartered
2 g of dried American ginseng, sliced
10 g of dried lady bell root
15 g of lucid asparagus root
2 g of mulberry root
15 g of malt
80 g of pearl barley
5 honey dates
30 g dried mussels
1 large piece of dried tangerine peel
20 g of solomans seal
2 L of water

How do I prepare it?

Rinse and soak for 10 minutes all the herbs (everything except the Chicken)

Boil your soup water

Prepare chicken and in a separate pot of boiling water, ! blanch y our chicken for 5 minutes

Rinse again the herbs in cool water

When soup water boils, add all the ingredients together

Boil on high heat for 30 minutes and reduce to a medium boil for another 1.5 hours

Serve and enjoy!

Any benefits?

• Helps reduce heatiness and internal fire from the body
• Excellent for the respiratory system
• Helps nourish the lungs, assist with cough and soothe the throat (especially sore throats)

Any precautions?

• It is a slightly cooling soup, so take with precaution when in your first trimester of pregnancy
• Be sure to purchase herbs from a reputable source

SlurpVision Wine Videos from Online Retailer Slurp

SlurpVision Wine Videos from Online Retailer Slurp

Slurp.co.uk a rapidly growing, young and dynamic wine company and with over 7,000 wines must be one of the largest online retailers in the UK. They are very enthusiastic about one of their their newest ventures, SlurpVision wine videos.

Driven by our shared passion for wine, we have created a fresh new YouTube channel delivering informative and enlightening content to our viewers. We produce a whole range of videos including reviews, insider tips, winemaker interviews, wine terms and regional trends. Some of the industrys top wine personalities have joined us in this video project, such as Steven Spurrier, Serge Hochar, Peter Gago, Dave Powell and Tim Atkin. We believe that SlurpVision fills a vital gap in the way people learn about wine.

The link to the channel is
http://www.youtube.com/SlurpVision. From this channel Ive picked two videos as a sampler. First up is a video of what wine to drink with curry, the second is a meet the winemaker session with Jose Lievens of Champagne house, Jacques Picard.

Spittoon.biz - A UK Wine Blog - We Spit... So You Can Swallow

Progress at Sri Utara for Semi Dees & Bungalows

The main entrance of the development which was completed in the earlier Contract together with 2 units of show houses.Works is progressing satisfactorily on site as at todate.The reinforced concrete structures (or rather the skeleton) of the semi detached houses at Selayang.TNB substation which has to be completed 6 months before the Final Completion date so that the electrical power supply can be energized and be ready in time.The wash trough where heavy lorries and other vehicles clean their tyres before exiting the site. If not the blue uniformed Authority men will be waiting for you right outside the construction site.