The Kitchen

Well I did say I was going to do a post about my kitchen after a few teasers. It wasnt too much of planning on the kitchen as I knew exactly what I wanted, what material would be used for the types of cabinets. The only part that wasnt expected was a pillar (which is on the right side of the picture) that couldnt be removed due to building structure. Hence, therere 2 pillar stuck in between the dry kitchen and the dining area. Initially we wanted to make a bar with one of the pillar, but now with 2, it would make the bar too big and distract traffic flow. So we kinda skipped the bar idea. Well maybe a couple of years time, and if we need an additional bar well build it then.

Here. we. go!

This is the dry kitchen. Material of use for the wall and tall cabinets are high gloss PU spray paint in white. Spray paints are more expensive compared to laminates or melamin but because I use this oven very often, I didnt want any material to expand / come off / change colour / melt etc. Hence spray paint is one of the safe choice after glass (I dont like glass so technically its not a choice for me) The base cabinets are in brown wood grain laminate. All are handleless, with a 45 degree cut inwards, as handle. The top, is a aluminium rack for stuffs. The gap between the top and bottom cabinet, the one called backsplash (in marble effect) is actually a laminate to make it look like marble slabs. Since white and brown is kinda plain toned, I decided to make it more flowery.Plus, it makes it more designer-ish compared to using glasskote / glass cladding or tiles. Glass cladding are more expensive and partially reflective. Tiles are .. common, so I chose laminate. Best part is if after 5 years and you want to change it, you can just remove it and order a new piece and attac! h it bac k on to a plywood or something. Of course with the help of a carpenter if you need to remove it. You defintely cant do it easily with tiles.

The pic you see now (above) is with a warm light. I have two types of lights installed above the plaster ceiling, warm and white flourescent, so there can be both white (when I make cakes) and warm when were not really doing anything there. For a brighter shade, we just turn on both warm and white. But most of the time we just have it on white cause the rest of the house are all warm lights.

Far right is the entrance to the wet kitchen.

The oven here is a 60cm Teka which I bought at a very very very slashed price (about 70% off) as it was a displayed but never installed unit. I am fine with display but not used appliances. It was only about RM 1500, from the original price of 5k +. It comes with a meat prob, digital display and timer, a pizza function and 3 inner trays. I dont like 4 layers cause theres no middle tray u know what I mean.. YA Im fussy like that.

When choosing oven, I well actually I didnt exactly choose. There were only 3-4 ovens on clearance sales at that time and I chose the most expensive one, since its at 70% off, might as well take the most expensive one! If you ask me what brand or what type of ovens to look for, honestly I cannot give you much advice. I have at most used 3 different brands of oven in my home, a Zanussi in my old house. A teka and a tuscani from a range cooker. Oh wait, Ive used other commercial big big ovens, and a Eka stand alone oven before. I would say that as long as you know how to control the temperature and time, its almost all the same for the same price range. All ovens would eventually come to a problem of uneven heat distribution or inaccurate temperature. If you KNOW your oven well, its the best.

This is from the other side. The top surface is a white solid surface. and em.. fridge at the other end. The island is about 3 ft x 9 ft. Initially it was suppose to be 4 width but because of the 2nd obstructed pillar, the island had to be cut off abit. This pic is taken with whitefluorescentlight. On the other end of the kitchen island, are some electrical plugs and a LAN cable outlet for interneting. Also because our house is a 3 storey house and the main hub is located on the 3rd floor, it makes it hard for any wifi to reach the ground floor. Usually for wifi, 2 storeys are covered, the 3rd is usually very poor. So we had a wifi hub installed on the ground floor so everyone can use it.

The fridge you see here ( pic above) is a LG Top and bottom door fridge. Just dont buy LG for fridges. We bought it about say 8 years ago and its already been in the factory a couple too many times. We were ALL SO WORRIED that after the move, it may go KO, but SURPRISINGLY (touchwood) it worked ok. But still keeping fingers crossed on this one.

This is next to the fridge, where some of the smaller appliances are. From the left, is a lebenstil espresso machine, a Kenwood mixer, a lebenstil water kettle, a mosquitoe killer and a National microwave oven (which we havent really used the oven part of it before). When we first moved in there were alot of tiny bugs around so we just put a mozzie / bugs killer. All are not new appliances ya.,

Espresso machine was another displayed item but not used from the shop.. Oh wait. I think this wasnt displayed but it was on a 50% price slash, turned out to be only RM 600 from RM 1300 ish. Im the most frequent user of this machine cause Im the only one that knows how to operate it. Its okay u know.. ! I make p retty decent latte / cappuccino and its not from a capsule.. The Kenwood is a pretty good 5-6 years old machine. This is another displayed but not used item from the shop, it was the last one on the shelf and there was a discount of 20-30% Ok what!! From this you know I like to buy displayed but not used appliances with a huge price slash. If it works, and looks fine, why not!

The lebenstil water kettle is a free gift from buying a cuisinart ice cream machine about 2 years ago. We kept it cause we ddint have any more space to use in the old house.. Kept it well. Now it mostly serves a purpose of providing me hot water to wash off buttercream / cake stuffs. Mistake of not installing hot water at the sink area. Pppfftt..

This is the backsplash which I mentioned earlier, and some wall rackings for spices. There are no hood and hob for cooking but sometimes I do prep work in front at the dry kitchen hence some of the stuffs are at the dry kitchen. The wet kitchen is much smaller (due to some structural problem again) Below this counter is a dishwasher, erm, which we havent exactly put it to good use it. Another price slashed item, less than 1k.

These are some stuffs from the top cabinet, for the props, plates, cups and mould that I use. You can say that these are all my stuffs. My mom doesnt exactly open this cabinet and see whats inside. Lol if she does, Im kinda worried. Worried not because she will nag me on why Im buying these stuffs, but more like she will say why I only buy 1 or 2 items of each type of thing, cause its! so rand om. My mom doesnt agree with using different types of plates when others come to our house to eat. She likes those in a set, all matched up and stuffs. I prefer random coloured plates. But then again these are just some photo probs for the blog n all, cause they are all small plates / bowls/ ramekins etc. Now that I see the red weighing scale.. Haha its an emergency scale. I swear by digital scales ever since I own one.

This is the wet kitchen. Emmmm yeah its well seasoned with stuffs already. Its pretty small, width about just 7 ft, length about 15-18ft. Im not sure about this. Cause we extended a little. Our initial plan was to get it to a 9 ft width but because we need to leave some space outside for a walk way, it has to be cut short. Boo, mom not very happy about it. But she hardly cooks now anyway. The bottom and top are white melamine in high gloss and the top is a black granite. Yeah, our kitchen are all white, black and brown. Hahaha My mom asked me to get a red dry kitchen, a mixture, I said no. It isnt because I dont like red, but red are seasonal colours and it gets aged after 2-3 years. I prefer neutral colours this time. (Not the same applies with my bedroom! haha ) Anyway, back to the wet kitchen. On the right is a 2 ft depth (standard modular size) depth and on the left is a 1 1/2 ft depth cabinet. This one was made to store pots and pans and some appliances under and on top of it. Its not place for chopping anything. On top theres a rice dispensar, 2 toaster, some books and magazines, a steamer and a rice cooker. I dont know but where do people usually put these stuffs without compromising on counter top space We are looking to add some wall hanging racks under the wall cabinets.. Well see..

On the right is a hot water dispensar, juicer and cups ! n all wh ich we use everyday. The stove is a 90cm tuscani range cooker. and a 90cm tuscani hood which we got from Homedec with some price slash as well. Further away from the range cooker are where all the sauces and condiments are. We have like 2 soy sauce, 1 thick soy sauce, 2 tomato ketchups, chili bottles, honey, random spices, seasoning, sauce sauce sauce and more sauce! Oh a 90cm oven is ssoooo good when it comes to baking cupcakes for orders. Its not the best oven in terms of functions / settings but heck I only use top and bottom heat anyway. But if it means baking 100 cupcakes at 1 time, its GOOD. (for me)

The door leads to my maids room.

This is the other side of the wet kitchen. Sink, a more than 10 years old hesstar fridge and on the left is to go out to the yard area. Actually the best was to make the sink the same row as the range cooker and the exit door at where the sink is.(As long as its minimum5 ft apart, It should be ok in terms of the water and fire element not clashing each other). But for some other fengshui reason (my mom consulted a fengshui kinda master. Its more of a North, South, East, West direction that shes more particular of) the master said that its better for water to face this direction. Well, uhm OKAY, if its so, it will be built this way then. The fridge wasnt meant to be so close to the sink. Its meant to be abit further away, but DUE TO some pillar that cannot be chopped off again, the entrance to the wet kitchen was moved slightly close to the sink area, hence the fridge is now very much closer to the sink. 2 person standing here washing is packed.

We also recycle so it can get quite messy at the wet kitchen. My organizing skill is a fail. Lol. We have boxes and bags for plastics / paper and tins / cans. Sometimes there! are gla ss bottles but I find that certain dont take in glass bottles for recycling. They are recyclable right? No ? Then we also make compost with vegetable / fruit skins and waste. You can imagine its quite a scene back here. We are somewhat cutting back on the compost cause it attracts alot of small bugs and flies and all.. Urgh.. not a good scene either.

Em.. ok. thats about it. Next Ill probably do a post about the garden.

Cheers.

PANTRY GOODS: NATURAL SWEETENERS + BAKED APPLES

{Here is the plan: Id like to try something new around here, every now and then, just to change things up. Well call it pantry goods, and I will occasionally dedicate a post to a certain section of a whole foods focused pantry. If you have any positive comments, questions or things youd like to see around here, please contribute to the comment section!}

I am familiar with the way I cook and eat, but am aware its not mainstream. For the next few weeks, were talking pantry goods, and this post Im sharing some notes on sweeteners. Forgive me if I am repeating information you already know, but Im hoping to level the playing field here. It makes me squimish to write as an authority on this, as I have no formal nutrition degree, but I want to share how these natural sweeteners work in my kitchen, and why I find them better choices than plain white sugar. None of these sweeteners are diet foods or low calorie but I find them to be less processed than the alternative. There are certainly more than whats listed below, but these are what I find in constant rotation around here.

// DRY SWEETENERS //

Organic Natural Cane Sugar: This is the closest relative to plain white sugar, and is defined as pure evaporated cane juice. It retains any natural occuring nutrients and minerals. Plain white sugar is bleached or refined, and clarified by bone char (why some vegans/vegetarians wont eat it). It is easy to find at any conventional market these days.

Muscavado: I use muscavado in place of brown sugar as an equal exchange. Some resources say you should reduce the moisture content a bit, but I find this to be unnecessary. Its texture it moist, much like refined brown sugar, and you can purchase it in light or dark varieties.The flavor is complex and caramel like, making a great substitute in baking. It retains its natural minerals, as the molass! es has n ever been drawn out of it in the first place. Standard brown sugar is refined, and then the molasses is added back in to make it brown. You can find muscavado at specialty markets, or buy it here.

Turbinado: You know this most popularly as Sugar in the Raw, they have it in little packets at Starbucks and restaurants, it is a coarse natural cane sugar. Its made by crushing raw sugar cane and pressing out the juice that has all the vitamins and minerals in it. This juice is then dehydrated in a centrifuge to produce larger crystals. It makes an excellent topping to loaf cakes or cookies because it stays crunchy and adds a nice texture. I also like it in granola or a crumble topping because of this. Turbinado is easy to find at a conventional market.

Sucanat: The consistency of sucanat is pretty unique, it resembles sand and it quite dry in texture. It doesnt work in places you need a smooth sweetness, like whipping cream, as its texture is too dry. It is produced in a similar way to turbinado, except the juice is heated to a syrup, then hand paddled to dry it out. Because it has all of its natural molasses, it has a good amount of iron, B6, calcium, and potassium. Ive read that it is great for homemade bbq sauce, but I use it mostly for baking. My cookies err on the side of textured anyway, typically with oats, chocolate chunks and dried fruit, so it fits in perfectly. You can find it at natural food markets or here.

Date or Maple Sugar: Dehydrated versions of their respective ingredients, these sweeteners are considered whole foods as there is nothing added or taken away. The maple, for example, is heated and then stirred to! dry, so rt of like turbinado. They dont dissolve into liquids without heat, but they can be substituted 1:1 for plain or brown sugars. The tastes resemble date/maple with their deep flavor, so use accordingly. You can find them at natural food markets or here. Ashleys cocoa with maple sugar looks delicious.

// LIQUID SWEETENERS //

Honey: Believe it or not, honey does have a season. In the summer and fall, you are going to get the freshest honey when buying it at a local farmers market. Bees are essential for our food system, so if you are able to buy it from a local beekeeper, do it. There is usually someone with honey at a farmers market. Honeys unique composition makes it an immunity builder, helps with allergies, anti-microbial, an antioxidant and a remedy for a number of health ailments. It dissolves easily into liquids with a bit of heat and can be used in baked goods. There is a resource through The Honey Locator to find places near you.

Agave Nectar: There are differing opinions on whether agave is as unrefined as it is marketed to be. Because it has a high concentration of fructose, some research doesnt find it so great, and with enough googling, you can look into it yourself, Im not one for conflict. It is extracted from the agave plant, and comes in light, dark and raw varieties. It is said to be lower on the glycemic idex than regular sugar, so it doesnt spike your blood sugar as quickly. It is slightly sweeter than a dry sugar, and doesnt have a strong flavor making it pretty versatile. Because it dissolves easily into a liquid, I often use it in oatmeal, cocktails, dressings, marinades and what not. Agave is easy to find and they have a great price at Costco/Sams Club if you use it frequen! tly.

Maple Syrup: REAL maple syrup is from the sap of a sugar maple tree. You can purchase it in Grade A or B, the former being a more gentle flavor and the later having a deeper maple-ness to it. I usually go with B, and both are a good source of manganese and zinc. The good stuff can be fairly pricy and since it lasts so long and I use it often, I buy a big jug to save money. I use it as a sweetener for granola and Heidis peanut butter cookies are spot on.

Brown Rice Syrup: This sweetener is made from fermented brown rice, and then heated to make a thick syrup. It is a complex sugar, which means it is broken down and absorbed more slowly into the blood stream. I use it in granola bars and rice krispy treats, but have read its a great sweetener for coffee due to its mild flavor and how well it distributes in liquid with heat. I use it as a sweetener for frozen yogurt in our cookbook and love the gentle flavor it contribute there. You can find is at natural food markets or here.

** Though they all contribute sweetness to a recipe, the dry vs. liquid sweeteners cannot be substituted exactly. As a very general rule, if you want to use a liquid sweetener instead of a dry, you need to scale back the moisture in the recipe back by 1/3 or add 4 Tbsp. of a flour to compensate. If you want to use a dry instead of a liquid sweetener, cup for cup, add 1/3 cup more liquid to the recipe.
Again, all of these notes are based on opinion with some help from Wholesome Sweeteners and SparkPeople.

BAKED APPLES WITH SPICES + NUTS // Makes 4
Adapted from La Tartine Gourmande by Beatrice Peltre

Beas cookbook, as expected, is quite gorgeous. There are a good amount of dessert recipes along with stunning and creative dishes featuring fresh vegetables. Though not marketed as such, she cooks gluten free, so the recipes call for a few unique flours and such, but they are worth the trip if you dont stock them normally. Sweet stories, thoughtful recipes, the book is a beauty.
I only made a few changes based on the fact that I didnt have vanilla bean or cinnamon sticks on hand, but either way, this is a super easy and tasty dessert.

4 Tbsp. dried cranberries or golden raisins, chopped
4 Tbsp. unsalted pistachios, chopped
4 Tbsp. slivered almonds, chopped
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 cup apple juice
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract or one vanilla bean
zest of one lemon
4 apples such as pink lady, winesap, liberty
3 Tbsp. coconut oil, melted
2 Tbsp. turbinado sugar

Preheat the oven to 350.
Combine the dried fruit, pistachios and almonds in a small bowl. Stir in the cinnamon and set aside.
In a saucepan, combine the apple juice, vanilla extract or seeds of the vanilla bean and lemon zest. Bring it to a simmer for 5 minutes for everything to infuse. Turn off the heat and let it cool.
Core the apples and cut about 1/4 of the top off, reserving the tops (I used a melon baller to scoop out a bit of a pocket in the apple core, this is optional).
Put the apples in an ovenproof dish. Divide the nut stuffing between the apples and cover them with their tops.
Pour the infused juice and oil over the apples and sprinkle with the sugar.
Bake for one hour or until the flesh is tender, regularly drizzling with the cooking juice. Remove from the ov! en and s erve warm with the juices and plain yogurt, whipping cream or ice cream on the side.

Invited: Chinese New Year Yee Sang With Checkers Cafe, Dorsett Regency Kuala Lumpur 2012

2012, Year of the dragon according to the Chinese Calendar. This year is the auspicious year which Chinese community believe that is the best year to do something be it business or personal. A family dinner is inevitable in all Chinese families where everyone get together to have a dinner during the first to 15th day of the Chinese Lunar New Year. Thisstrengthenthe bond between family ties and also businessassociates.

I believe most of you usually have a table dinner where the foods served one by one through out he night. Some of the members like the particular dish and some may not. So sometime that feels kinda wasted. This year I attended something out of ordinary hosted by Dorsett Regency Kuala Lumpur located at the old KL suburb area along the Imbi Road. They are doing it the buffet way for the reunion dinner. You may think that the food are so so or feel cheap on them. You are wrong! Read thru this article and the exact thing will be served on the buffet line on the night itself.

Upon seated, we were greeted with a golden fresh pineapple that for sure will freshen you up.

Prosperity Splash Drink

Mixture of fresh Pineapple, Mandarin orange, Dragon Fruit juice and sweetened with honey.

Presentation wise this already makes your guest feel prosper according to Chinese saying. Pineapple is pronounced as WONG LAI in Malaysian Cantonese dialect. WONG means prosper and LAI means come. The welcome drink already welcoming prosper. What a way to greet your guest on these auspicious day.

Checke! rs Cafe provides a lovely ambience and environment for the traditional Chinese New Year Eve reunion dinners.

Exclusive for Food POI readers!

Make your CNY Buffet reservation through this link to get 38% DiscountLunar New Year Celebration at Dorsett Regency

As media we were served on a sit down dinner since it is an intro of the highlighted dish. Upon running through the dish list something caught my attention.

Crispy Salmon Fish Skins! Yee Sang .

Chinese Sous Chef Lai Chan Meng who orchestra the whole reunion dinner menu

The Yee Sang is almost the same like any others but the sauce makes the difference. Plum and fruit based sauce were designed for this prosperity toss to ensure healthy style dieting.

The aftermath of the prosperity toss which we still keep things under control. Everything still on the plate. Talk aboutpracticea lot last year with so many rounds of Yee Sang tossing.

The crispy salmon skin were thin and crunchy.

Introducing my favorite dish of the night.

Pan-fried Lamb Rack with Chef Special SauceChefs! Special

Lamb Rack with special sauce is one of Chef Lais specialty. Skillfully pan-fried with his secret combination of sauces and spices. Chef Lai explained that quality lamb racks are used as they dont carry a strong gamy taste or smell. The meat was tender, juicy and coated with very tastefully caramalised secret sauce.

Braised Sharks Fin with Assorted Seafood

A bowl of seafood treasure baseddelicacy that consist of dried scallops, sharks fin and crab meats. A dash of vinegar and whisky added will spice up the soup to another level. If you happen to bring your own whisky for this dinner, add some to the soup before serve.

Steamed Chicken with Herbs

The poach chicken were done right where the texture is buttery smooth, meat were tender and filled with herb flavors which steamed together with some Kai Lan vege.

Deep Fried Cod Fish with Superior Soya Sauce

Crispy on the outside and moist inside. Drizzled with superior is what needed to bring out the flavor of the cod fish fillet.

Deep Fried Prawns with Seafood Sauce

Juicy and succulent prawn makes everyone going thru a HA HA happy year. HA means prawn in Chinese which symbolize happiness. The prawn were deep fried and tossed with seafood sauce brings out the of the prawn.

Braised Fish Maw, Sea Cucumber, Dried Oyster and Black Mushroom with seasonal vegetable

Fried Rice with ginger and salted egg

Golden SesameBall with Red Bean paste

Steamed Nian Gao

Nian Gao is a Chinese New Years cake, its prepared by Chef Lai himself from scratch. He purposely make it slightly softer for better texture and coated it with shredded coconut. It is considered good luck to eat nian gao during this time, because nian gao is a homonym for higher year. Eat more if you wanna get a raise this year.

Both the dessert were accompanied by a bowl of homey style red bean soup.

REUNION DINNER MENU @ CHECKERS CAFE

SALMON YEE SANG SALAD

Yee Sang with Crackers and Salmon Fillet

Roasted Duck Breast Glazed with Honey Dressing (cold)

Roasted Chinese-style Duck, Chicken and Chinese Bun

CAESAR SALAD

Toss Romaine Lettuce with Caeser dressing with choice of Crispy Beef Bacon, Shave Parmesan Cheese, Crouton, Garlic Confit, Anchovy and lemon wedge

BREAD

Assorted homemade breads

COLD PLATTER SELECTION

River Smoked Salmon with lemon dressing

Roasted Chicken and Gherkin

APPERTIZER

Sweet corn salad, Mexican corn salad, Oyster mushroom and green German potato salad, Green Bean, Nicoise Salad, Tomato, Yogurt cucumber, Hummus Babaganoush, Tauboleh! salad, Garden green, Asian Spicy Thai beef salad.

DRESSING AND CONDIMENTS (COLD)

Thousand Island, French Dressing, Herbs Vinaigrette, Balsamic Vinaigrette, Italian Dressing

DEEP BLUE SEAFOOD ON ICE WITH CONDIMENT (COLD)

Oyster, Green Mussel, Tiger Prawn, Lemon juice, Cocktail sauce, Shallot Dressing and Lime dressing.

SOUP ON BUFFET

Hot and Sour soup, Seafood and Sharks fin soup

ACTION COUNTER

Chicken Rice Roasted and Steamed Chicken

Waffle Ala minute (maple syrup, fruit salad, whipped cream topping, icing sugar, cinnamon sugar)

HOT DISHES
Roasted Lamb Leg, Salmon Confit with Poached Egg, Kari Ayam Berkentang, Pan Fried Cod Fillet with Cod Caviar, Sauteed Vegetable with Fish Maw, Braised Sea Cucumber and Mushroom, Nian-nian You yu Steamed Sea Bass, Buddhas Delight Braisedd Mixed Vegetables, Lucky Chicken Golden Roasted Chicken, Deep Fried Prawn with Oats, Chinese Glutinous Rice in Lotus Leave, Stir-fried Dry Oyster with Fatt Choy, Braised Chinese cabbage with Dried Scallops and Fish Paste, Fried Wanton Mee with Shitake Mushroom and Seafood, Cantonese Fried Rice.

MALAYSIAN HAWKERS FARE
NOODLE SOUP OF THE DAY
Curry Mee

SATAY CORNER
Charcoal-grilled chicken, beef, lamb satay serve with rice cakes, cucumber, onions, pineapple and peanut sauce.

JAPANESE CORNER
SUSHI DELI CORNER
Maguro and Salmon sushi, baby octopus and unagi sashimi, Futomaki Rice Rolls with Prawn and Vegetables, Californi Rolls with Avocado and Cuumber served with Kikoman, wasabi and pickles radish.

FRUITS
Watermelon, honeydew, papaya, pineapple, dragon fruit and jack fruit with asam powder.

DESSERT
Orange Brulee Tartlet, Strawberry Fantasy, Ginger Cream Caramel, Panna Cotta, Mango Smoothness, Profiterole, C! hocolate Baked Cheese, Trutti Fruity and Tiramisu, Assorted Malay Kuih, French Pastries, Chinese New Year Cookies, Fried Nian Kao, Golden Sesame Balls

ICE CREAM COUNTER
Choice of Ice Cream
Chocolate Fountain
Topping and condiments: Macadamia, pistachio, almond, walnut, chocolate chips, peanut, apricot with choolate, vanilla, raspberry and strawberry sauce served with waffle

HOT DESSERT
Rice Pudding, Bread and Butter Pudding

HOT BEVERAGES
Coffee and Tea

Catch Lion Dance Performance on 26th January 2012 at 9:30am at Dorsett Regency Kuala Lumpur, held at the main Lobby

Reunion Buffet Dinner

22nd January 2012

Price: RM108++ per person

Gong Xi Fa Cai New Year Brunch

23rd and 24th January 2012

12.00 noon to 4:00pm

Price: RM75++ per person

Joy and Luck Buffet Lunch

Monday to Friday

(25th 31st January 2012/ 2nd 5th January 2012)

Price: RM75++ per person

Prosperity Buffet Dinner

Monday to Friday

(23rd to 31st January 2012/ 1st February to 6th February 2012)

Price: RM85++ per person

*50% discount for children between the ages of 4 to 12 and senior citizens of 55 years old and above

*Price quoted are subject to 10% service charge and 6% government tax.

Exclusive for Food POI readers!

Make your CNY Buffet reservation through this link to get38% DiscountLunar New Year Celebration at Dorsett Regency

Chinese New Year 2012 @ Chef Choi Restaurant, Jalan Ampang, Kuala Lumpur

Tis the season for yee sang, the colourful salad that rings in our prosperity wishes.


Recently, we rolled off the celebrations with dinner at Chef Choi. It was actually more of a dinner to celebrate a friend's return from Europe and the USA with lots of goodies for us to savour.


Since the festive season was just round the corner, we also indulged in the festive goodies such as the yee sang. The version was very much the traditional one with the crunchy yam shreds, ocean trout sashimi and a drench of their yummy plum sauce.







Another festive must have is the lap mei fan and Chef Choi's version is a teensy weensy healthier with the use of low GI basmati rice instead of the normal white rice. While it means you sacr! ifice th e crust, this version mean you can finish your rice happily after a full meal. The waxed meats are superb including the famous goose liver sausages from Hong Kong's Yung Kee. Surprisingly locally made lap cheong is used and it is just as good as the Hong Kong versions.





There was also a lot more indulging that night including this melt in the mouth braised pork shoulder served together with all those yummy Chinese New Year goodies such as mushrooms, fatt choy, dried oysters and fresh scallops.





We ate our greens in the form of braised wah wah choy with dried scallops dutifully as we knew more rich crazy carbs was coming our way. This braised dish is always a big favourite of mine that I often have second helpings of the smooth cabbage with the broth and dried scallops.





This was simply gorgeous - the special fried glutinous rice with Hong Kong goose liver sausage. If I wasn't so full from my lap mei fan, I would have eaten loads of this. The sausage adds a nice rich taste to the rice as each nibble bursts into a umami fat laden explosion in the mouth. Since we could not finish this, takeaways were packed and people wer! e eyeing this for their supper or breakfast the next day.





Finally desserts to end the magnificent meal - the traditional crispy Chinese New Year cake with yam encased in a crispy batter and the very not traditional tiramisu. The tiramisu is simply gorgeous and very light tasting since beaten egg whites are folded to lighten the mascarpone cheese.


So much indulging with great food....thus the best thing of these festivals.


Chef Choi Restaurant
159, Jalan Ampang
Kuala Lumpur


Tel: 03-2163 5866


(Non Halal. For more details on the Chinese New Year set menus, see the Flickr set that also contains more pictures.)


*The meal was part of a private dinner between friends where the host paid for the meal.

Fried Porridge @ Fong Ting Siew, Serdang Kedah

A year ago we were here for the famous fried porridge and we were back with more or less the same people eating more or less the same food at Fong Ting Siew.It tasted as good as like before smoky, delicious and sinful because it has a lot of lard in it.Cockle small in size again in sweet and sour sauce but yummy.Apple salad with cuttlefish crisp and onions. Truly appetising.Deep fried lemon grass & ginger pork ribs were aromatically lovely and the chew of the ribs was tender and succulent.Sabah veggie stir fried with belacan was good too.Assam prawns were also sinfully fried with lard and obviously very delicious.Assam prawns were tangy and pleasing to our taste buds and causing excessive saliva secretingfrom the mouth.Tom Yam fish which we did not try last year and it was a goodchoice.Lemon fried chicken an additional order was made to ensure full satisfaction is observed.

Prices at Restoran Fong Ting Siew was reasonable and it's worthwhile to take the long drive from Kulim to Serdang.

)
RESTORAN FONG TING SIEW
71AJalan Raya, Taman Melur ,09800 Serdang ,Kedah.
Tel : 04-4077939

GPS : 5.20444, 100.61105