Mooncake workshop @ Lai Po Heen, Mandarin Oriental KL (mini snowskin with durian paste)

I was very excited when I was given the opportunity to attend a mooncake workshop at Lai Po Heen, Mandarin Oriental KL.I love eating mooncakes (no doubt about it) hence it would be good for me to learn how to make them too so that I could eat them all year round. You can read about all 15 mooncakes from Mandarin Oriental KL here.

Since it was just me in the class, you could say I was lucky to have gotten a one-on-one private lesson with head dim sum chef, Wu Chee Hong who very patiently taught me all the steps of making their famous mini snowskin mooncake with durian paste.

For those wanting to attempt to make snowskin mooncakes at home, I can assure you that this could be done at home, however you need to be very quick when shaping the durian paste as well as dough as the durian paste is delicate and will melt easily with the heat from your hands. Lai Po Heen uses D24 durian. The instructions given here are for making mini mooncakes with a 4cm diameter, however if your mould is bigger, you need to scale up the measurements when dividing the durian paste or dough.

I got to take home the mini snowskin durian mooncakes that I made and both my parents who love durian commented that it was really good. The most surprising thing was that even Baby D loved it. The durian paste is really smooth. Thanks to Chef Wu for the invaluable lesson ;)

With Chef Wu and Chef Ricky of Lai Po Heen

Lai Po Heen's custom mooncake mould

Mooncakes galore

Mini snow skin with durian paste
Recipe courtesy of Mandarin Oriental KL
Makes 30 (4cm diameter mini mooncakes)

For durian paste
(A)
110g wheat flour
110g corn flour
75g custard powder
38g milk powder
225g icing sugar

(B)
5 chicken eggs
300g butter, softened at room temperature
300g UHT whipping cream
600g Fresh durian (D24)

1. Mix ingredients (A) together, then slowly add in chicken eggs, butter and UHT whipping cream.

After step (1), you will get the mixture on the left and after steaming, you will get the one on the right

2. Steam mixture for 15 minutes and keep in the refridgerator for 1 hour to firm up.

3. Add fresh durian into mixture and blend until smooth. Keep into refridgerator again for 1 hour to firm up.

4. Cut into small portion, approx 5g, then shape into balls. You have to work quickly as the mixture is very delicate and melts easily with the heat from your hands.

5. Keep in the refridgerator again until ready for use.


For the snowskin
500g Icing sugar
450g rice flour
150g vegetable shortening
530g water

1.Mix the icing sugar, rice flour and vegetable shortening well.

2. Slowly add in water and knead to a soft, pliable dough.

3. Using your hands, roll the dough into a long cylindrical shape. Cut into small portion, approx 5g. Flatten dough and then wrap dough around durian paste balls.

Video on how to shape the mini snowskin mooncake

4. Cover with some rice flour and then roll slightly into cylindrical shape then press the dough wrapped with durian paste into mooncake mould.

Ready to be knocked out

5. To remove mooncake from mould, knock the mould against the table. Serve chilled.

Yay! Me and my first mini snowskin mooncake with durian paste ;)

All the ones I made

Chef Wu and me :)

Durian snowskin mooncake is the yellow one on the left.

The mini snowskin mooncake with durian paste is available for! purchas e at Lai Po Heen for RM16++ per piece. To read about ALL the mooncakes from Mandarin Oriental KL, please click here.


Location: Lai Po Heen, Mandarin Oriental Hotel, Kuala Lumpur City Centre, 50088 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Tel: 03-2179 8885

Fresh Mint Chip Frozen Yogurt

This mint frozen yogurt recipe from the soon-to-be-released Sprouted Kitchen cookbook is brilliant. The recipe combines two parts Greek yogurt with one part cream to make a luscious mint-blasted treat. I thought I'd share this gem of a recipe today, and give you a little peek at the book as well. It's full of inspired, beautifully photographed, whole food recipes - and I suspect you're all going to love it.

First off, the frozen yogurt is a breeze to make. Sara uses fresh mint, and then boosts it with a bit of mint extract. Brown rice syrup is used as the sweetener - rich and malty in flavor, with much less edge than refined sugar. If you don't have access to brown rice syrup, you can swap in maple syrup or honey (I'd use 1/2 cup of either). My one tip when it comes to homemade ice cream or frozen yogurt? Churn to order. Few things are better.

A few shots of the lovely book itself. :) The frozen yogurt is one thing, but I have about twenty other recipes earmarked as well. For example, have a look at this beautiful capellini. Or the roasted plum tartines down below.

I was lucky to see an early, early version of the book (before it was bound and printed), and wrote a little quote for the back cover. Is it weird to share it here? I'm going to do it anyway. "The minute I landed on the Sprouted Kitchen website, years ago, I knew I'd stumbled on a kindred spirit. Everything I loved about the site extends itself beautifully into this cookbook - the vibrant focus on whole foods, the enticing photography, the inspired ingredient combinations, and Sara's approachable voice. I imagine this book being a welcome addition to many kitchens." It is available for pre-order here. And should be shipping before the end of the month.

Congrats Sara & Hugh, the book is a stunner.

Continue reading Fresh Mint Chip Frozen Yogurt...

My Breakfast @ Hougang,Singapore

I wanted to eat prawn noodle the Singapore version and was brought to this food court called Coffee Express 2000 located at Hougang Street 61 same row as the last time I tried Kimly Seafood during a Chinese New Year day.Happy Prawn Noodle Lady happily posing for me to capture her lively character. Thumb up.This bowl of Prawn Noodle with sliced lean meat & pig skin.Whereas this one with pork ribs.Singapore Kway Chap with broad rice noodle which is a popular dish here.Braised ingredients for the Kway Chap such as duck, meat, egg & intestines.Pontian Wan Tan Mee with chilli and or tomato sauce. Thecharacteristicof Singapore's Wan Tan Mee.The Food Court is clean I guess all places in Singapore have to be clean or else it's not Singapore.

Coffee Express 2000

682 Hougang St 61,Singapore,530682,Singapore

GPS :1.374731,103.886113

Its Truffle Season!

I am conscious that it has almost been three weeks since I shared on Twitter about how excited I was in buying my first winter truffle. Before the truffle season ends (according to the guys at Georgie's Harvest South Melbourne Market, the truffles coming out from the ground are still looking good and it should stretch to August (although I am aware that it is now August), So before it becomes September, I thought I quickly share how daunting yet exciting it is to cook with such a magical perfume of a fungus.

Weighing at 12 grams and costing me well 36 bucks, this little bugger was put nicely in a small jar and went straight into my jacket pocket (didn't want it to get lost in my shopping trolley).

The first thing we set out to do was to make some truffled scramble eggs but before you actually make it, store the truffle with some eggs in an air tight container.

Ideally put it in together for 2-3 days to give the truffle some time to perfume the inside of the eggs. We couldn't wait and did it for a day and I can say the result is much milder than expected. That said, don't belittle the size of the truffle. Open up the jar after a day and take a big whiff inside the jar, the smell is intoxicating (in a bloody good way).

So for a first course, it was my rather runny scramble eggs (x4) with some shaved truffle. Like I mentioned before, the truffle "taste" is not so much for your palate but for your nose. It smells better than it tastes (or a lack of taste).

One challenge I did have was finding a substitute truffle cutter and it was a challenge. Using the crap microplane grater, we had quite a few pieces sticking on the grater. Using a cheese slicer, we found it was hard to slice it thin enough since the truffle was so small to begin with. However, if cooking truffle is going to be a one off, live with it or invest in a truffle cutter.

The second course was a mushroom soup, recipe for another day and again the truffle works brilliantly on the nose. However if you are generous with your truffle, it can work magic into what was an ordinary soup.

I stretched the 12 grams to the third and final course, a simple mash. We normally drizzle truffle oil into our mash but after having fresh truffle, I don't think I can reach out for my truffle oil any more.

Top Brew Coffee @ Hartamas & Hot Shots @ Solaris

Checking out a couple of nice new cafes that cater to caffeine-craving customers.

Top Brew is a top pick this month, spearheaded by EspressoLAB's ex-employee JH Yee, who won the 2012 national Malaysia Barista Championship and ranked second runner-up in the regional Food Hotel Asia Barista Challenge.

Yee's awards represent his passion and conviction; the man himself might represent the many hardworking, hugely talented baristas who've become a crucial component of KL's cafe culture.

Yee relies on beans by Lighthouse Coffee of Penang's Logan Heritage for his mean cups of macchiatos, lattes and more, each of which costs south of RM10.

Homemade peanut cookies, chocolate brownies, chocolate chip muffins and pineapple tarts are available to complement these beverages; Top Brew plans to start serving sandwiches and waffles too by next month.

Top Brew's tricky location: inside the commercial row OPPOSITE Hartamas Shopping Center, above Urban Spoon restaurant but behind the storefronts,hidden from the main road.

For now, the outlet opens Thursdays through Tuesdays, 9:30am-6pm, including weekends.

Next up, a three-minute drive from Top Brew Coffee Bar, Hot Shots Cafe deserves to be one of Solaris Dutamas' hot spots.

Hot Shots sells coffee machines, grinders and roasters, as well as freshly roasted beans.

The cafe is calm, spacious and welcoming, enabling customers to relax and focus on their coffee and conversation.

Hot Shots is on the first floor of Solaris Dutamas' most prominent row; it can be spotted from the main road, somewhere ABOVE the line of eateries that includes Pappa Rich, Wau Penyu and most of Dutamas' original outlets. So far, it operates for nine hours starting 9 a.m. weekdays.

Help yourself to a free flow of complimentary cookies here, ideal for accompanying one of KL's thickest, richest hot chocolates.

We liked what we tasted, but we'll leave it to others more knowledgeable than us to comment more constructively on the coffee at both Top Brew and Hot Shots.

To! p Brew C offee Bar,
C-0-7, Plaza Damas 3, Jalan Sri Hartamas 1, Kuala Lumpur.
Call 016-275-7500 for directions.

Hot Shots Coffee and Tea,
A3-UG-07, Solaris Dutamas, Kuala Lumpur.
Tel: 1300-888-138