Christmas Day Menu - Breakfast & Lunch (updated)

8.00am : Breakfast is served!Scrambled eggs with chives, topped with caviar. Served with smoked salmon, cherry tomatoes and sundried tomatoes.


12.30pm: Time for lunch! Chunky mushroom soup with truffle oil and summer truffles. Served with garlic toast.



2.00pm: Snack time! Kids enjoy Marks & Spencer animal shaped butter biscuits while the adults enjoy the Maragato Hot Chorizo.




All recipes will be posted after Christmas day.

Do check back after lunch to see what else is being served on our Christmas menu!

Christmas Day Menu - 25 December 2011

8.00am : Breakfast is served!Scrambled eggs with chives, topped with caviar. Served with smoked salmon, cherry tomatoes and sundried tomatoes.



All recipes will be posted after Christmas day.

Do check back after lunch to see what else is being served on our Christmas menu!

Restoran Tringkap @ Tringkap, Cameron Highlands for Dinner


It was a long journey to Restoran Tringkap @ Tringkap. The traffic was madnessgoing through Brinchang town where a night market was held next to the road sides. A note of advice, Don't go through Brinchang during Saturdays and especially during school holidays or public holidays.Steamed free range chicken served with chopped ginger & soy sauce.Deep fried tilapia fish in slices seems to be the restaurant signature's dish.Deep fried mushroomDragon bread veggie "Loong Sou Choy" in belacan stir fried in right flavour & taste.Stir fried long beans which looks difficult from that we have in KL, seems coarser and darker in green butit tasted goodand crunchy.Clay pot braisedlamb for the mutton lovers.
Dinner was over, everyone was worried about the journey back to Tanah Rata... the traffic jam...the pasar malam. Everyone has the sameopinion that we should have stay back in Tanah Rata for dinner instead stucked in the traffic jam for hours just to cover for a few kilometres.... A lesson learnt indeed.
Restoran Tringkap14 Taman Puncak Tringkap
Tringkap 39100
Cameron Highlands
Tel : 05-4962324
GPS : 4 31' 01.20"N, 101 25' 37.59"E

Merry Christmas 2011!

Merry Christmas everyone! I know you are all tucked in bed, tummies full of wine and turkey and excited about Christmas Day tomorrow. I'll be busy tomorrow so I'm uploading some photos of tonight's Christmas Eve's dinner at my friend Elaine's house.

Elaine is a terrific cook. She throws elegant dinners where people stay and stay because the company's always fun and her home is beautiful and welcoming. I wish I have a long dining table too and a house with glass walls from where I can see the city lights. I was stunned by the spread she had on the table. Simple dinner she said, so I offered to make a couple of simple desserts and when I saw her table I just wanted to go home and whip up something more befitting to the occasion.

I need to get up early to prepare for tomorrow's dinner so I'll stop writing and just upload my photos.

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I couldn't find marzipan anywhere so I thought I'd make my own. If there's one thing I'll remember about this Christmas, it's that I made my own marzipan and it's darn easy and cheap too! Just knead 500 gm ground almonds, 500 gm sifted icing sugar, 2 egg whites and either 1 teaspoon of pure vanilla essence or a few drops of almond essence until well-blended and smooth. Chill until ready to use. Home-made marzipan tastes way better than store-bought (store bought usually has more sugar and less almond) and this recipe makes a great-tasting marzipan that's not too sweet.

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I thought this photo was pretty funny. The guys had to carve. Looks chaotic but it was fun.

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Excellent turkey with stuffing.

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New Zealand leg of lamb done so well I decided it's better to eat than to look slim.

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Delicious cookies. Must get the recipe.

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My fruit cake, covered with marzipan.

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Candied fruits.

DSC_0785_1024x678_1024x678Chocolates and stollen.

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My choc cupcakes.


Merry Christmas, dear friends!

Flavors & Baan 26

Have yourself a merry little turkey...

The festive buffet at Swiss-Garden's Flavors Restaurant is a fulfilling feast, even though some customers might be driven bonkers because 'Jingle Bells' is played on an endless loop here _ every second, minute & hour.

All the Yuletide essentials are accounted for, from oysters, prawns & mussels on the fresh seafood counter to turkey pot pie, lamb osso bucco, sea bass & scallops in the hot food section.

Roast beef too. A fair spread at RM70++ per adult & half-price for children & senior citizens.

A plateful of turkey (dark meat, please), chestnut stuffing (delicious!), giblets & cranberry sauce to help me meet my turkey requirement for 2011.

Much meat & various veggies build a balanced meal to make the spirits bright. Quality-wise, it's not top-flight though _ the duck confit with orange zest might seem leathery & overcooked.

Log cakes, stollen, puddings, fruit cakes _ enough desserts to make every belly as bounteous as Santa's. Service at Flavors is reasonably attentive & efficient, with used plates regularly cleared & empty glasses of water replenished.

If the evening is young & there's no hurry to head home to make sure the kids are fast asleep, then take a 10-minute drive to Changkat Bukit Bintang for a nightcap.

Many know Changkat's Baan 26 Restaurant for its tasty Thai food, but the Thai-inspired cocktails here are equally enjoyable: Tuk Tuk (pandan vodka, bacardi, lychee juice) & Pandan Fantasy (pandan vodka, malibu, gin, midori, apple juice).

Thai's Land (red wine, vodka, orange juice) & Monsoon Red Alert (tom yam vodka, malibu, watermelon, lychee).

Kiwi Vodka Caipiroska & Golden Triangle (that's what the receipt says it was, but we've forgotten what it contains _ blame that on the booze!).

Flavors Restaurant,
Swiss-Garden Hotel, Kuala Lumpur.

Baan 26,
Changkat Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur.

Merry Christmas 2011

Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas. Hope you enjoy this special day with your loved ones. I'd also like to say thank you to all who have supported and read my blog this year.

A special Christmas message video from Baby C :)


Have a blessed Christmas

Baby C putting out some "sweets" for Santa Claus.. (we told her Santa likes cookies and cakes, so she prepared a goody box for Santa.. so cute!)

Hope you like them Santa! And hopefully by the time the kids wake up, under the Christmas tree will be filled with presents.

Follow me on Facebook or Twitter for live updates of our Christmas Day menu.

KAWAII & OISHI Part 1

Fancy some piping Hello Kitty buns anyone?

In Japan kawaii or cuteness sells like well...hot cakes! Of course it helps that the food is oishi (delicious) too. Coupled with the Japanese masterful art of packaging, how can anyone resist from lugging home packs and packs of confectionery, cakes, pickles, tea, pastries, seaweed and even fish cake?

Onigiri - Japanese rice balls are quick, tasty and convenient to eat when you're pressed for time
While waiting to get into Universal Studios, we decided to breakfast on some Onigiri - Japanese rice balls that feature different fillings from a little kiosk adjacent to the theme park entrance. Mine was packed with Takoyaki - Osaka's favourite snack of piping hot batter balls filled with chopped octopus! Laced with mayo, a sweetish tangy sauce and lots of bonito flakes, they hit the spot in the chilly weather.

Whimsical snacks featuring Snoopy and the Peanuts gang to keep hunger pangs at bayPop corn tubs adorned with Elmo on the lid and a flashing Christmas tree w! ithinOnc e inside, we discovered how irresistible the kawaii factor is. Whether it's a burger and fries from the cafe or a tub of pop corn from the many kiosks that dot the place, you'd happily fork out money to indulge the child in you.

Fresh waffle are made and sold on the spot at this rustic Elmo-themed shopLovely to see and eat...miniature Hello Kitty & Daniel cakesMake no mistake about it...Hello Kitty is HUGE in Japan. The top cat icon touts everything from phone dangles and jewellery to candies and rice cakes. We spotted these adorable kai tan koh (eggy sponge cakes) filled with red bean paste in Universal Studios and later we'd find many more food items with this cute kitty image on the packaging everywhere we go.

Great balls of ... Takoyaki comes in various toppings In Osaka, Takoyaki reigns supreme. There's even a little Osaka Takoyaki Museum next to Universal Studios!

These batter balls similar in size to golf balls are cooked in moulded pans with bits of chopped tako (octopus) in them. Toppings vary from stall to stall and can range from seaweed strips, katsuoboshi (shaved bonito flakes) and mayonnaise to spring onion, crispy tempura batter bits and ponzu (tangy citrus-based BBQ sauce).

A map depicting takoyaki hot pots in OsakaEntrance to the Osaka Takoyaki Museum

Trust me these taste waaayyyy better than they look ^^




Cute bear cakes and luscious cakes in a patisserie in OsakaWe also noticed that the Japanese have a penchant for French-inspired pastries and cakes. Throughout our trip we came across scores of boulangeries and patisseries that proffer the most divine cakes, rustic breads and meticulously crafted sweet confections that are a sight to behold and a dream to savour.

In keeping with the Yuletide spirit, sweets in Santa and snowmen shapes
< br>This cream puff is from Beard Papa's! The real deal in Japan...yummylicious!!!Little cakes moulded in the form of popular Japanese cartoons are always hot

More photos and notes on our Japanese culinary expeditions coming soon! In the meantime, Merry Christmas to all my followers and blog readers! *hugs*