Recipe: Sara La Fountain's summer pavlova with passion fruit cream served with strawberries and pistachios

Here's another recipe from Asian Food Channel (AFC) celebrity chef, Sara La Fountain which she shared with us duringher cooking demo at The Royale Chulan KL, Malaysia. The summer pavlova was my favorite dish from the demo - light, sweet end to a lovely afternoon.

Summer pavlova with passion fruit cream served with strawberries and pistachios
Serves 5-6

Ingredients
Meringue base
4 egg whites
3/5 cups of sugar
4/5 cups of powdered sugar
2 drops of white wine vinegar
2-4 drops of red food colouring

Passion fruit sauce
5 tbsp of lemon or lime curd
Flesh of 6 passion fruits

Garnish
1 box of strawberries (or any other berries that are in season)
1/5 cup of unsalted pistachios, chopped
1 3/5 cups of whipped cream

For the meringue:
1. Whisk the sugar and egg white until they form soft peaks. Fold in the powdered sugar and the white wine vinegar.

2. Pipe the meringue into small round shapes onto the baking sheet.

3. Bake in the oven for 3 1/2 to 4 hours at 80C / 180F.

For the passion fruit sauce:
1. In a bowl, mix the lime curd and flesh of the passion fruit together.

To assemble:
1. Place the meringues on a plate, with a large spoon of whipped cream.

2. Garnish with a drizzle of passion fruit sauce and top with strawberries and chopped pistachios.

*Due to some unforeseen circumstances, I didn't manage to finish my hotel review blog last night. Will try and post it up tonight. Sorry!

Rellenong Talong Recipe

Rellenong Talong or Stuffed Eggplants is delicious eggplant recipe. It is sort of a mixture of dry pork giniling and tortang talong. This dish is not that complicated at all. All you need to do is follow all the steps one-at-a-time to be able to get the expected result.

There are a few tips that I wanted to share in order to ease the job. First, when you are done arranging the ground pork over the eggplants and poured the beaten egg mixture on the pork, you can scoop some hot oil from the pan over the ground pork. This will cook the egg a little bit and bind the meat together. This is important because it will prevent the meat from falling apart when being flipped. Secondly, you might want to use two spatulas when flipping the eggplant to ensure that the eggplant and meat will still be in one piece.

Try this Rellenong Talong (Stuffed Eggplant) Recipe and let me know what you think.

Rellenong Talong (Stuffed Eggplant) Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 pieces Chinese eggplant
• 1/2 lb ground pork
• 1 small tomato, diced
• 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
• 2 clove garlic, minced
• 3 pieces large eggs, beaten
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 cup cooking oil plus 1 tablespoon extra

Cooking Procedure

Grill the eggplants until steam comes out (about 4 to 6 minutes per side).

Remove the eggplants from the grill; let the temperature cool down; peel-off ! the skin and then set aside

Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon of cooking in a pan.

Saut onion, garlic, and tomato

Add the ground pork. Cook until color turns medium brown (about 8 to 10 minutes)

Put-in soy sauce, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and ground black pepper. Stir; turn off heat, and then set aside.

Add remaining salt with the beaten eggs and then beat once more.

Dip the eggplants in the beaten egg mixture.

Heat a clean pan and then pour-in 1 cup cooking oil.

Put-in one egg plant. Scoop about half of the ground pork mixture and distribute on top of the eggplant

Pour-in about 2 to 3 tablespoons of beaten egg mixture over the ground pork.

Gently flip the egg (using 2 spatulas if possible) to cook the other side. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes in low to medium heat.

Remove from the pan and transfer to a serving plate.

Serve with banana ketchup and steamed rice.

Share and enjoy!

Number of servings (yield): 2

>>Download the Free eCookbook here<<

Related posts:

Tortang Talong

Shared Recipe: Tortang Talong with Giniling

Fried Talong with Bagoong

Eggplant Parmigiana (Par! mesan) R ecipe

Rellenong Pusit

St Cenneti (Milk Heaven)

In Kars, made from milk: kaymakli koymak on the left, eil peyniri up top

Since arriving in Kars we've been swimming in milk.

This province, sidled up to Armenia in northeastern Turkey, is a cow-raising, milk-producing behemoth. In this part of Turkey, where the deep snow of long, hard winters gives way to impossibly lush, electric green pasturelands, hayvanlar (which means "animals" in Turkish -- but here in the northeast is more likely to mean "cows) are a source of barest sustenance and vast wealth. They give the meat that is eaten by some and the milk that is consumed in all forms, by everyone.

Cruising the streets of the capital city, which is also called Kars, we pass peynirci (cheese shops) after peynirci, their windows displaying mammoth wheels of emmenthal-like gravyer and stubby rounds of creamy yellow kaar, a softer cheese with a mild cheddar-like butteriness.

Outside the city it's all dairy all the time, or so it has seemed to us -- heart-stopping, mind-blowingly rich and delicious foods made with the white stuff from the cow.

In villages, where most every household owns at least one cow and some own forty or fifty head, we never eat beef. Instead, there are slices of kaar and loose piles of eil -- string cheese that's milky and sprin! gy when fresh and dry, salty and deliciously pungent when left to age and blue in an animal hide -- plus creamy-salty white village cheese. There is milk just hours from the cow, strained and warmed on wood fired stoves and, a milk a day from the cow, cultured into yogurt. There is fresh unsalted butter and kaymak, an impossibly unctuous, partially solidified cream whose taste often bears an intriguing bit of tang, to spread on bread. That kaymak in turn enriches many of the sweet and savory breads that accompany our cheeses. Sometimes there are wild greens plucked from spring meadows and brined in the whey left over from making cheese.

After a week swimming in milk, eating deep in a food culture dependent on the fat of the cow, we thought we'd reached the apex several times over. Then, in a village not far from the deserted Armenian city of Ani, we ate kymak.

The recipe for kymak is simple: take the richest product of the cow -- kaymak -- and make it richer by placing it over a hot fire, bringing it to a boil and reducing it by half. Add flour, stir continuously until the flour browns and then add some water, bit by bit. Stir and stir and stir until the kaymak releases all of its oil -- which, of course, is essentially butter.

Serve your reduced dairy fat in a pool of its own butter in a bowl. Sprinkle with sugar. Spoon onto bread.

Enter the gates of st cenneti.

Chinese Food @ Ningbo Restaurant

I'm back in Ningbo for a few days and my colleagues took me to a newly opened restaurant near our factory for lunch. The restaurant was smokey and packed with factory managers taking their clients out for lunch.




Pan-Fried Dumplings

These were so-so. The Skin was lightly crisp but the filling was rather bland and the skin a little thick.


Steam Fish Head with Chili and Yellow Bell Pepper

The Fish was spicy and a little sour. I didn't quite like the flavor and felt the raw flavor of the Bell Pepper did not go well with the Fish.


Braised Pork Belly with Bamboo

This was ok. The Bamboo Pith was very tender and the Pork had a nice soy caramelized flavor.


Braised Tianjin Cabbage

This was so-so. The Cabbage was soft but maintained a light crunch. The soup was not as rich in flavor as I'd hope. It lacked the Chicken Broth flavor that's usually associated with this dish.


Assorted Beef Internals

A lot different from the Cantonese Version. Here the Beef Internals (Tripe, Tendons, Intestines) were braised in a Chili-Oil sauce. It wasn't braised for too long giving the Tendons a nice bite which I actually enjoyed. It was different but good.


The food was surprising slow for a Ningbonese restaurant. Our first dish came after 30 minutes. The food wasn't very good overall.


Food: 2.5/5
Ambiance: 3/5
Service: 2.5/5
Price: $ (Approximately USD $10 per person)

Contact Information
Address: N/A
Tel: N/A

The Curious Cat The Cat with a rib-tickling sense of humour!

A few days ago, I blogged about this mysterious new website which became the talk of the town, with people tweeting non-stop about it, and also sharing the videos on Facebook.

Since my last visit, there have been a few new updates on CuriousCatMy! Have you seen Part 4 of the Curios Cat video series? The new vlog entry absolutely tickled my funny bones.

The 52 seconds long video showed a conversation between a cat (Curious) and a goldfish (Goldie) about the uneven floor tiles in the house. Goldie invited Curious into its bowl because Curious was complaining about how uncomfortable it was to lie on the floor. Curious told Goldie hes not a fan of waters, and Goldie replied him, Sure lah, youre a fan. From where I come from, cats all swim like us. We call them CATFISH.

Ok, that might not be considered as the joke of a century, but it made me stifled a laugh when I was watching the video at home. Maybe its because Ive had a really long day today and needed a little unwinding. Or maybe its because of Goldie speaking in an Indian accent. But for some unexplainable reason, the humour hit the spot with me.

Anyhow it did hit me then that should there be any home furnishing and renovation be done, the tenants of the house should be taken in consideration, such as pets and young babies.

Slippery tiled areas is definitely dangerous for young kids. But for pets I guess all should be fine?

Anyone with pets here that could offer some advice on this? Is it okay for cats and dogs to be on tiles or is there! a need for carpets and mats for them. Which would be a better choice?

Anyhow, I went on to watch the other vlog entries and also read up on a few pictorial posts which you can find under the Curious Reports tab.

The length of all the vlog entries is just around the one minute mark, so watch them if you have a few minutes to spare! It would be a bonus if you just so happen to be a cat lover, for you would find Curious and his friend, Smiley, simply adorable!

So heres my little tip; if you need a pick-me-up after a hard day at work or perhaps after a long meeting, click CuriousCatMy for some rib-tickling humour. Free of charge! :P

Im now as curious as a cat (no pun intended) about this CuriousCatMy site. Whos behind it and what are its objectives? Anyways, Its CuriousCatMy (click click!) and Im anticipating more interesting, furry updates soon!

Affordable and Tasty French Infused Dining at Petite Mille 1 Utama

After the renovation and refurbishment exercise done at 1 Utama old New Wing is done, it has stormed by lots of international cuisines. I found my best Japanese Ramen and favorite HK Mango Dessert Sensation. The old spot where Burger King first opened is now replaced by Petite Millie.

Petite Millie is a sister restaurant of Millesime which operate in Menara Kencana Petroleum at Solaris Dutamas. It has a reputation of serving good French fine foods that so far well receive by the locals and expats that patron them.

This is the more casual version compared to Millesime since this is opened in a shopping mall.

Range of pastries made daily greeting the guest who wants something light.

Roasted Leek and Potato Veloute@RM12.50

This is a perfect starter for dinner to get our appetite warmed up before hitting the salads. It is not too creamy and not diluted either with a hints of fish ale used in the soup.

Provencale Root Vegetables and Brolotti Bean@RM12.50

The tapenade is made with black olives, blended in a food ! processo r until smoothen it up. Then soaked in a tomato based soup with croutons are simply tasty.

Luv a Duck @ RM23

Tartine is a lightly toasted bread with a drizzle of olive oil and hearty toppings, a balanced French meal with peppered duck breast & Fresh rocket leaves orange Dill Aioli

Iberian Beef Cecina@ RM19.50 serve along with Sliced air dried beef loin and capsicum concasee

Avocado and Crab cest une boone vie @ RM19.50

Fragrant thyme Lemon oil, Chive, crab meat salad and avocado

Poutine Cheek @ RM25

One thing that caught my attention that it had been long time since I had dine along something with poutine and this restaurant do serve it. Poutine is actually a dish of French Fries and fresh Cheeze curds covered with brown gravy sauce that origin from French Canadian. Some other restaurant have their ownrecipe or other ingredient being added along too.

I must sayPoutine Cheekin Petite Millie is impressive! Taste of thick brown gravy cook along with shiitake mushroom with chunks of beef being cook medium well is just perfect.

Emilias Tagliatelle al Duck Ragu @ RM28.50

Two ducks combo preparation, pesto and oregano

White Truffle Oil Fish Pie@RM3 6.50

Freshly toast crust that being cook along withwhite truffle oil baked fish pie with shiitake mushroom. After cutting the crust with cracking sound, the aroma of the soup just burst into the air make all of us eager to try it out.

It was a fun meal to try where you get the crunchy and creamy experience.

Bourguignonne Style Beef Bavette@RM46.50

Just look at that piece of Angus Beef! The chef sure know how to handle this piece of meat. It is medium rare done where the juiciness of the steak retained. Paired with rocket salad and special gravy blend the whole plate to a balance combination.

Millie Mascarpone@RM16

The Tiramisu

Panna Cotta@RM16

Apple Crumble@RM16.90

Malaysian Treasure -Coconut Cheesecake

Banana Cheesecake

*Pork-Free

Location:
Lot G 146, Ground Floor,
1 Utama Shopping Centre Petaling Jaya,
Malaysia 47800

Contact Number : +603- 77320395

e-mail :rvsp@petite-millie.com

Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/PetiteMillie

Fish Head Noodles @ Restoran Teo Chow, Jalan Changkat Thambi Dollah, Pudu, Kuala Lumpur

Mix of deep-fried fish head and poached fish slices with noodles


Getting back into the groove of blogging has been a tad difficult these few months.


I've been nagged by many who have been wondering why I've decided to just stop. I guess it's a combo of things. Firstly the lack of time with the crazy work schedule that one has no time to breath anymore. Once that was over, it was the lack of good places to blog about.


Nevertheless, despite a week's break, it has taken me quite some time to "get back into the groove". As a friend nagged last weekend, I really should just grit my teeth and start doing it. I guess after a long absence, it's like riding a bicycle, you know you can do it but it scares you a little.


Hopefully as I embark on a brand new adventure, it will get easier as time goes by.



Bubbling pots filled with fish stock that is prepped a la minute


So tada, as I emerge from the cocoon, I present to you this hidden gem of a place located right smack in the land of Teochew porridge.

This particular street seems to be deluged with the biggest contingent of Teochew porridge stalls in town. If it not a Teochew porridge stall, it's probably some Sichuan food place. Even the stall is located within a Teochew porridge ! stall, a n old school one that my Mum remembers frequenting a while back.

At first I was a little worried about this place since it didn't have many customers but as the lunch crowd swelled up, more customers started ordering their noodles.

Don't play play, I use Carnation evaporated milk, okay??


But one slurp of the soup in my bowl of noodles confirmed that this place was a hit. The soup tinged white with a dash of evaporated milk is fragrant with just a hint of Shao Xing wine. Everything is well balanced and there's no fishy smell. The lady owner adds ginger shreds, quartered tomatoes and sliced preserved cabbage (ham choy) to alleviate the fishy aromas.


My bowl was a mix of the deep-fried and poached fish slices. While the poached ones were smooth, I did find the deep-fried ones sliced a bit too thinly and over-fried. Nevertheless, the crispy edges were aromatic. To counteract the dry taste of the fish, I dunked it in the soup for a while.



Fish paste (yee wat) noodles


According to the owner, she uses Song fish to make her noodles. Since my mother is never partial to Song fish, she ordered the fish paste (yee wat). The homemade paste is scooped in a quenelle like shape and cooked in the soup. The texture of the fish paste is nice but not except! ional. T he star of course for these noodles is the delicious soup that we both slurp down to the last spoonful.


The stall offers two kinds of noodles, the thin beehoon variety but I like the thicker version she has. Unlike other places, she does not overcook the strands, hence they are a bit al dente and resemble slurp worthy spaghetti strands.


And for those big eaters, you can also order bits and bobs from the Teochew porridge counter. We greedily added a plate of braised pig's intestines as we waited for our noodles to be cooked.


Give it a try the next time you hit Pudu as these noodles with its gorgeous soup is definitely worth a trip here. A small bowl of noodles was about RM7 each for the different variety. No wonder, everyone calls Pudu, the food wonderland since just round the corner is crispy siu yoke at Robert's and there's also siphon coffee at Typica.


Fish Head Noodles Stall
Restoran Teo Chow
No. 276 & 278, Jalan Changkat Thambi Dollah
Pudu
Kuala Lumpur


Tel: 013-3454418


(Non halal. Open from 8.30 am to 3pm daily. Closed on the 15th day of the lunar calendar. Stall is located within a shop that has the signboard Man Siang Yuen but it shares the same premises as the Teochew porridge shop. The Flickr set is here.)


*Disclaimer: The opinions expressed here is entirely based on my personal tastebuds and may vary for others. This review is time sensitive; changes may occur to the place later on that can affect this opinion. The reviewer also declares that she has not received any monetary or non-monetary compensation from this place for writing the review.